So this Ukrainian soldier somehow managed to survive a sniper bullet

No, just a very big hand.

Absolutely, there's people who will tell you helmets are usually only rated to IIIA which makes them 100% useless.
But to be fair they have a bit of a point, in a situation other than a real war, unless you need it to mount NODs, a helmet is usually not that useful.
But in a war you 100% want a helmet considering the amount of shrapnel and debris being thrown around by artilllery and explosives, and the fact your head is often the only part of your body exposed.

I recall a while back that some anons began saying helmets were useless. The one that immediately comes to mind was relating to SHTF and how helmets were useless against bullets and were only good against shrapnel, instead telling anons to buy padded hats for the winter.
Now I get it, dress warm and all, but it was a shit take because helmets can still stop some bullets and nothing's stopping you from wearing something warm under the helmet. There are surplus hooded caps that do just that. Besides, a Level IIIa helmet can offer more protection than you think in some SHTF scenario. IIIa stops up to a .44 magnum, so it can protect against a lot of common civilian weapons, be it handguns, leverguns, maybe even shotgun slugs. Technically buckshot, but that's assuming the lower half of the spread isn't heading for your face.

When I was in basic, we were doing land nav at Fort Sill, one of our sister platoons was being. Punished for some offense I don’t recall, they had to wear full battle rattle while the rest of us just had PC caps and our rifles. Anyway, for anyone who has ever done land nav there it’s childishly easy, it’s so open and flat you can normally see the objectives in the distance. One of the groups of four got so fucking lost they wandered way outside the course, and a 5.56 round from a range somewhere in the distance hit a kid square in the forehead. The distance was far, over 1km, but the ACH stopped it cold, just the tip was peaking through on the other side. If it hit an inch lower it would have probably penetrated his skull.

Helmets aren’t perfect, but if you’re the lucky bastard saved by one. It’s probably the most valuable piece of kit you ever had.

>Helmets aren’t perfect, but if you’re the lucky bastard saved by one. It’s probably the most valuable piece of kit you ever had.
Amen. My philosophy is not to skimp on armor if you're gonna get some. After all, there's no helmet, no plates, no armor at all out there that is more valuable than what it's meant to protect: your life. Even if it only stops one bullet, that's a price worth paying.
Even getting shot non-fatally fucking sucks, nerve damage is a bitch. Personally I've been looking to track down a good flak carrier, make sure every possible gap a bullet could get in is closed. The less of my body exposed to gunfire, the better. I'd wrap myself in kevlar if it was feasible.