Ukrainian writer and war crimes researcher Victoria Amelina has died as a result of injuries sustained in the Russian bombing of a Kramatorsk restaurant.
The news of the writer's death was announced late on Sunday by the Ukraine chapter of PEN, an international public cultural organisation that protects freedom of expression, and of which Amelina was a member.
Amelina, 37, was in a pizzeria on June 27 with Colombian writer Hector Abad, former high commissioner for peace in Colombia Sergio Jaramillo, and Colombian journalist Catalina Gomez, when it was hit by two missiles.
The Russian attack is one of the deadliest in recent weeks.
"With our greatest pain, we inform you that Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina passed away on July 1st in Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro. Her death was caused by injuries incompatible with life, which she suffered from during the Russian missile shelling of a restaurant in Kramatorsk on June 27th," PEN Ukraine said in a statement.
"We are announcing this news now when all Victoria's family members have learned about it and with their consent."
Amelina, a war crimes documentarian for rights organisation Truth Hounds, was severely injured in the attack on the Ria Lounge in the city centre.
PEN said analysis of the destruction and evidence from witnesses indicated Russia used high-precision Iskander missiles on the restaurant, which would point to another war crime.
"They clearly knew that they were shelling a place with many civilians inside. We know of 13 dead and about 60 wounded," PEN said.
Amelina's texts were translated into Polish, Czech, German, Dutch and English.
She joined the Truth Hounds in 2022 to document war crimes in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine, in particular in Kapitolivka in Izyum region.
As well, Amelina worked on international advocacy, calling on foreign governments to provide weapons to Ukraine, and also for the international tribunal for Russian war crimes against Ukraine, PEN said.
Her death came as it was announced US President Joe Biden will head to Europe for a three-country trip intended to bolster the international coalition against Russian aggression in Ukraine.
The main focus of his five-day visit will be the annual NATO summit, held this year in Vilnius, Lithuania. Also planned are stops in Finland and Britain.
In June, Biden hosted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the White House, where the two leaders pledged continued cooperation in defending Ukraine.
The NATO meeting comes at the latest critical point in the war. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says counteroffensive and defensive actions against Russian forces are underway as Ukrainian troops start to recapture territory in the southeastern part of the country, according to its military leaders.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general, visited the White House on June 13, where he and Biden made clear that the Western alliance was united in defending Ukraine.
Biden said during that meeting that he and other NATO leaders will work to ensure that each member country spends the requisite two per cent of its gross domestic product on defence.
“The NATO allies have never been more united. We both worked like hell to make sure that happened. And so far, so good,” Biden said as he sat alongside Stoltenberg, who is expected to extend his term for another year.
"We see our joint strength in modernising the relationship within NATO, as well as providing assistance to defence capabilities to Ukraine."
When Finland joined NATO in April, it effectively doubled Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Biden has highlighted the strengthened NATO alliance as a signal of Moscow’s declining influence.
Sweden is also seeking entry into NATO, although alliance members Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the move.
