Ukrainian Author Killed in Restaurant Missile Attack

The freedom of speech organization PEN said on Sunday that a Ukrainian writer and war crimes investigator who was injured in a Russian missile attack on a restaurant last week has passed away.

A Russian missile struck the Ria Pizza restaurant in the eastern city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including children, and injuring dozens more. Victoria Amelina, 37, was injured in the attack.

PEN Ukraine posted a statement on its Facebook page stating, “With the deepest sorrow, we inform you that Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina passed away on July 1st in Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro.”

According to PEN, Amelina had visited the city together with a group of journalists and authors from Colombia.

A physician tending to the injured said that she had “multiple skull fractures” and was hospitalized.

According to PEN, her book “Dom’s Dream Kingdom” was released in 2017 and made the shortlists for both the European Union Prize for Literature and the UNESCO City of Literature Prize.

English, German, Polish, and other languages have all been used to translate her poetry, prose, and essays.

According to PEN, she has been working since 2022 to compile evidence of Russian war crimes committed since the invasion and to promote justice.

Soldiers, journalists, and humanitarian workers flocked to Ria Pizza in Kramatorsk, one of the biggest cities in the east still controlled by Ukraine.

With Amelina’s passing, the strike has claimed 13 lives.