Bulletproof Vest
A Ukrainian man accidentally shot himself fatally while he tested a bulletproof vest. In this photo, an employee shows a bulletproof vest, which is part of the armoured clothing line produced at the factory of Colombian businessman Miguel Caballero, on the outskirts of Bogota, Dec. 28, 2012. Getty Images/ GUILLERMO LEGARIA

A Ukrainian man accidentally shot himself fatally while testing a bulletproof vest. The horrific incident was filmed by his friend.

The incident took place happened in Donbass, the shortened name for the Donetsk and Luhansk coal mining regions in eastern Ukraine. The victim, who was identified by only by his nickname Domovoi, was a member of a Russian-backed militia occupying the regions following Kremlin’s 2014 invasion.

The footage showed Domovoi wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a Stechkin automatic pistol. His friend, who was recording the video, announced the victim was wearing sixth-grade armor, the same as those worn by Russian Special Forces, Mirror Online reported.

Disclaimer: Some viewers may find the video disturbing.

Screaming "that's it, f--k Donbass," Domovoi pointed the firearm at his stomach and pulled the trigger, shooting himself point-blank.

Immediately afterward, Domovoi was seen falling to his knees, taking off his vest and lying down on the ground. The cameraman, who was clearly not expecting something like that to happen, was seen frantically asking his friend how he was feeling.

"Looks like he's dying. Yes, he's dying. F***, are you dying? Are you really wounded, bro?" the cameraman asked, then after nervously laughing, added, “Looks like he's wounded. Looks like he's going to die now. I have to stop filming now, sorry."

Local reports said the man died from the gunshot wound.

The incident called to question the safety of bulletproof vests, even those which claim to stop point-blank range shots.

In a YouTube experiment conducted by the social media channel TAOFLEDERMAUS, a dummy wearing Kevlar body armor was shot from different ranges, including point-blank.

When the marksman shot the dummy in the middle of the vest from a point-blank range, the Kevlar armor failed to stop the bullet from entering the dummy’s body, proving the protective cover was built for long-range shooting only.

Russian military expert Mikhail Bratskov said it was inevitable that Domovoi would get injured by a point-blank range bullet.

"The shot was fired at close range. Even if the vest was not penetrated by the bullet, the kinetic energy of the bullet could easily tear the tester's internal organs."

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