Writers, journalists, activists, and others around the world have expressed condolences over the death of Ukrainian writer and activist Viktoria Amelina, who died over the weekend from injuries sustained during a Russian rocket attack last week on a restaurant in Kramatorsk.
The 37-year-old Amelina was in the Ria Lounge restaurant in Kramatorsk with a delegation of writers and journalists from Colombia at the time of a Russian air attack on June 27. She succumbed to her injuries on July 1.
In total, 13 people, including three children, were killed and at least 60 were injured in the attack.
"Our dearest friend and brilliant Ukrainian writer and human rights activist Victoria Amelina passed away," Ukrainian PEN club President Volodymyr Yermolenko wrote on Twitter. "Killed by a Russian missile."
Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Amelina, 37, had been documenting alleged crimes by Russian forces for the Truth Hounds human rights nongovernmental organization.
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Popular Ukrainian Writer Dies From Injuries Following Kramatorsk Restaurant Attack
She was noted for discovering the diary of writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, who was detained and killed by Russian forces in the city of Izyum early in the invasion. The diary, which was buried in his garden, detailed alleged Russian atrocities during the occupation of the city.
Belarusian opposition leader in exile Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote that she was "heartbroken" over news of Amelina’s death.
"She dedicated her life to documenting war crimes in Ukraine and tragically became a victim of a cowardly Russian attack on civilians," Tsikhanouskaya wrote on Twitter.
Amelina was born in Lviv on January 1, 1986. She had a master's degree in computer technology from Lviv Polytechnic University.
Her first novel, The November Syndrome, was published in 2014 and was shortlisted for the Valeriy Shevchuk Prize. Her second novel, Dom's Dream Kingdom, was published in 2021 and was a finalist for the European Prize for Literature.
She won the Joseph Conrad Literary Award in 2021.
Ukrainian human rights lawyer Kateryna Busol wrote that Amelina had "a feeling, seeing, seeking and speaking heart, full of integrity, care, grace, and truth."
Katerina Sergatskova, a Ukrainian journalist and activist, called Amelina "a brilliant person, a dreamer, and a writer turned war crimes investigator."
"There is no word to describe how unfair it is," she added.
At the time of her death, Amelina was working on a nonfiction book in English titled War And Justice Diary: Looking At Woman Looking At War.
Ukrainian authorities arrested a man a day after the Russian air attack, accusing him of helping Moscow carry out the strike.