Before she was killed by a Russian missile strike, the acclaimed novelist and war crimes researcher wrote about growing up in Moscow’s shadow, and how she came to understand what being Ukrainian really meant
Victoria Amelina, an award-winning novelist, essayist and poet, died on 1 July from injuries sustained in a Russian missile attack on a restaurant in eastern Ukraine. Generous, talented and funny, Victoria also had an extraordinary moral clarity and commitment, underpinned by vast reserves of unshowy courage.
After the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, she trained as a war crimes researcher, which meant travelling to frontlines and bearing witness to extreme violence and suffering.
