Surgeries Reshape Faces of Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers

American plastic surgeons have performed extensive reconstructive surgeries for soldiers injured in the face during the war in Ukraine. The treatments aimed to restore not only appearance but also speech, chewing, and daily functions as much as possible.

Scraper SystemJune 12, 2026, 12:28 PM

Surgeries Reshape Faces of Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers

Reconstructive surgeries for soldiers severely wounded in the face during the war in western Ukraine aim to do more than improve appearance—they seek to restore speech, chewing, and daily life functions. In operations involving American plastic surgeons, efforts were made to reduce permanent scars on soldiers injured in drone attacks.

One of the surgeries was performed on 49-year-old Vitaliy Yakovets, who was hit by shrapnel in the face during an FPV drone attack. Under anesthesia, a nearly three-hour procedure involved delicate suturing to repair wounds extending from under his right eye to his ear, then to his nose and mouth.

After the surgery, it was noted that Yakovets could better close his right eye and that the scars causing facial asymmetry were somewhat reduced. Yakovets said he could hardly recognize himself in the mirror, and that his face now looked different and more orderly.

Yakovets’ story highlights how severe wounds from the war affect not only physical health but also daily life. After his injury, he had to eat soft foods and could not eat meat due to his jaw not closing properly. He also described limited mobility caused by a metal rod in his leg.

Yakovets joined the army on the day Russia launched its large-scale invasion in February 2022. Coming from the northeast Sumy region, he was wounded during a series of drone attacks near Lyman in the Donetsk region; the first attack caused shrapnel wounds to his head, and the second injured his leg.

Despite heavy drone surveillance at the location of the wounded soldiers, two soldiers reached them and evacuated Yakovets and his comrades within two hours. However, during the evacuation, the group narrowly escaped death due to new drone attacks and 120-millimeter mortar fire.

Yakovets said he only fully recovered about a month after his severe injury and that during that time he tried to get out of his hospital bed and leave. According to his wife, he constantly wanted to return because he felt he had not completed his military duty.

Yakovets’ surgery was carried out as part of a humanitarian medical mission called "Face to Face." Supported by organizations based in the US and Ukraine, this initiative brings together doctors from various specialties to perform multi-stage and often lengthy operations on patients with facial war injuries.

American surgeons explained that these surgeries are extremely delicate due to the density of nerves and blood vessels in the face, and they strive to restore shape and function as much as possible for each patient. However, experts say the real results appear months after surgery; infection risk, healing process, and the patient’s overall health are decisive factors.

Another soldier undergoing the same process, Ivan Semeniuk, said he wanted his wound to be less visible for his family. Semeniuk, 54, wounded near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in July 2024, lost his right eye and has a sunken scar that causes his eyelid to remain open.

Semeniuk said he initially felt sad because of his appearance but emphasized that his family’s love did not change. He stressed that his desire to reduce the scars on his face was more about easing the anxiety experienced by his loved ones than about his own image.

Surgeries Reshape Faces of Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers