An open letter with 15,000 signatures: Russian doctors are writing to Putin asking for an end to hostilities against Ukraine. The letter, published on the British Medical Journal, it is an act of courage, first of all. Because we know how risky it can be to express dissent. Doctors, nurses and paramedics ask their president to withdraw the troops: “We are strongly opposed to the military actions of the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian territories”.
Our mission is to save lives
A manifesto that is partly political but is linked above all to the values of the profession. “Our mission is to save lives – they write – in these difficult times for both countries we ask for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the resolution of all political issues exclusively in a peaceful manner”. The letter underlines how relatives, friends, patients and colleagues of the signatories are in the areas under attack: “There is not a single person who can benefit from this bloodbath. Human life is priceless, it takes a moment to be killed. in action and it also takes years to be able to treat and heal the wounded. And we will pay for these days of war for years. Furthermore, following our oaths and treating all human lives equally and with the same respect, we demand the immediate suspension of all operations with the use of lethal weapons “.
We have been taken back in time
Ksenia Suvorovaphysician and founder of the Evidence-Based Medicine site MadMed, who coordinated the letter, explained to the British Medical Journal that many of the signatories have relatives, friends and colleagues living in Ukraine. “My best friend lives in Kharkiv – she specified – luckily she managed to escape in time, while the Russian tanks were heading for her house. She didn’t go far, she stopped in a suburban area, which will be bombed in short. Obviously it’s hard to put up with all this. ” Suvorova added that many Russian doctors and health professionals have been urged to join military operations in Ukraine. “Many are seriously thinking about leaving and many of us are scared. We do not support hostilities in Ukraine and we feel as if we have been taken back in time, as if we are experiencing a civil war, in which society is divided in two, who is for and who is against war. However, most doctors are against war, if only by the very nature of our profession. And I am happy to see how many doctors and health professionals continue to sign our letter against war”. It must be said that health professionals are not alone: even teachers, scientists, journalists, figures from the cultural world have made similar appeals to Putin.