UCS Statement on the Case of Surgeon Vitalii Rusakov
The Ukrainian College of Surgeons (UCS) expresses its support for our colleague, surgeon Vitalii Rusakov, who is currently at the center of a criminal investigation that raises serious concerns about the evaluation of medical care in Ukraine.
We deliberately do not take the side of emotions. We stand on the side of facts, standards, and evidence-based medicine.
The death of a patient is a tragedy. However, in medicine—especially in oncology—it is not automatically evidence of a physician’s guilt. Establishing professional liability requires clear criteria: deviation from the standard of care, a direct causal relationship, and proof that the outcome was predictable and preventable.
In the current case, these questions remain open for professional—not media—assessment.
Clinical decisions must be analyzed by medical professionals through independent expert review, morbidity and mortality (M&M) discussions, and comparison with international guidelines such as NCCN, ESMO, and NICE. Only after such evaluation can legal conclusions be justified. Any other sequence poses a risk to the entire healthcare system.
The criminalization of complex clinical cases without proven causality creates a dangerous precedent. It pressures physicians to avoid treating high-risk patients, discourages clinical initiative, and promotes defensive medicine driven by fear rather than patient interest.
This is not an abstract issue. It directly affects patients’ access to quality medical care in Ukraine.
We support the right of Dr. Vitalii Rusakov to a fair, professional, and unbiased review of his case. We also support patients’ right to truth—but that truth must be grounded in evidence, not assumptions.
The Ukrainian College of Surgeons calls for:
- An independent clinical expert review
- Evaluation of care strictly based on international standards (NCCN, ESMO, NICE)
- Separation of medical expertise from investigative interpretation
- Adherence to journalistic ethics and the presumption of innocence
Today, this is the case of one physician.
Tomorrow, it may become the norm for the entire system.
If that happens, everyone loses—physicians, patients, and the healthcare system alike.