On 10 July, Ukraine honours the memory of fallen healthcare professionals. It is a day of profound gratitude and respect for those who remained true to their calling until the very end and gave the most precious gift of all—their own lives while saving others.

A doctor does not choose the circumstances in which lives must be saved. Their professional duty is to stand by their patients under any conditions. Such were the healthcare professionals whose memory we honour today.

War, however, knows no mercy. It claims not only the lives of soldiers, but also those who dedicate each day to saving others. Healthcare professionals work under shelling, on the front line, in hospitals, during evacuations, and in frontline communities. They remain beside their patients wherever help is needed most. For many of them, devotion to their professional duty became the final choice of their lives.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, hundreds of Ukrainian healthcare professionals have lost their lives while carrying out their professional duty. They include doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, combat medics, and all those who selflessly stood in defence of people’s lives and health.

The Ukrainian Association of Joint Arthroplasty joins the nationwide commemoration of fallen healthcare professionals and expresses its sincere gratitude to all those who continue their work.

We bow our heads in honour of the blessed memory of our colleagues.

May the memory of those who gave their lives for others be eternal.