On July 10, Ukraine introduced a Day of Commemoration for Fallen Medical Workers.
Since the beginning of the armed aggression by the Russian Federation (2014), a large number of medical workers have died across Ukraine on the front lines, under shelling, in hospitals, during evacuations, saving others, or at home after a workday. They were not only doctors, nurses, paramedics, orderlies, and drivers – they became true heroes of Ukraine.
During the period of the full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territory, nurse Olena Haivoronska was killed as a result of enemy shelling. She died from injuries incompatible with life in the suburbs of Mariupol.
The medical director of the structural unit of the KNP "Medical Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Addictions in Mariupol" in the city of Volnovakha, Oleksiy Yurchenko, died after prolonged communication with representatives of the occupying authorities, along with many other medical workers.
As part of the "Light of Memory" project dedicated to fallen medical workers, on this day at 14:00, a nationwide memorial action took place in healthcare facilities and public spaces across Ukraine, during which a symbolic sound signal – a heartbeat – was sounded, followed by a minute of silence. Emergency medical service vehicles at the base were equipped with flashing lights.
Wreath-laying ceremonies were held at memorial plaques in various settlements of the region and at the relocation sites of healthcare facilities in the cities of Dnipro and Kamianets-Podilskyi.
We have no right to forget their names, their courage, humanity, and selflessness.
Medical workers who have passed away deserve our daily gratitude, not just on this day. May their memory illuminate the path for those who continue their work.
Honor and respect to all fallen healthcare workers!