Ukrainian soldier's smartphone stops 7.62 mm bullet from taking his life | Watch

In a rare incident, a Ukrainian soldier who had a close call from a bullet shot by the invading Russian forces was saved after it hit his smartphone. As per the footage that appeared online, the Ukrainian trooper with a blue band around his arm, nestled in his combat position, takes out his phone during the intense battle from his pocket. His smartphone, which appears to be a Samsung Galaxy S21 or S20, prevented a 7.62 mm bullet from taking his life. 

The 7.62×39 round was fired from a Russian AK-47 assault rifle. As the sound of gunfire resonates, the Ukrainian service member who is targetted quickly takes his phone out and hands it to his comrade to inspect. He then says in the video that his $600 phone and a military badge saved his life. The soldier, inspecting the phone that had sustained damage from an embedded bullet says “the artillery was flying.” He then goes on to add that the Ukraine soldiers are fighting “5.45” while “they have 7.62 bullets.”

Bullet wedged through phone's screen 

In the footage, it can be seen that the bullet had wedged through the screen and the soldier tells his comrade "The only thing that saved my life was a phone and a dog tag I was given." The other soldier responds: "This is a dog tag? f***i* it a little bit [came] through." Some online observers argued that the shot might have been a ricochet implying that the bullet fragment was deflected by the phone as it is unlikely that a phone would have stopped a direct shot. The ricochet bullets might still be fatal depending on where on the body they are targetted. 

Russian soldiers intensified shelling at the 300 miles of the frontline. They mostly use the AK-47 which was adopted by the Soviet Union in 1991 and is a commonly used assault rifle from the Russian military’s stockpiles. It fires 5.45×39 rounds but there are also several assault rifles such as SVD-63 Dragunov, and bolt-action SV-98 that fire 7.62 rounds.

While Ukraine has been using the AK-74 that fires 5.45 as is being said by the soldier inspecting the damaged phone in the video, some of the “Foreign Legion” forces also reportedly use the FN FNC’s, the NATO ammunition. While the Apple iPhone dominates the smartphone market worldwide, its rival Samsung Galaxy is known for its good camera and longer battery life. Now, it also showed its feature as a ballistic safeguard.