Victoria Amelina: Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened

One year after her death, TFP is honored to share an essay by slain Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina on the need to face past—and present—crimes against humanity.

Victoria Amelina (1986-2023)

It seems an eternity, but today marks the one-year anniversary of the cowardly Russian missile attack that killed the gifted writer and TFP friend Victoria Amelina. The Ukrainian poet, novelist, essayist, and documenter of Russian war crimes was mortally wounded on June 27, 2023, in an attack on a civilian target—a popular family restaurant—in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The mother of a young son, Victoria hung on for five days before finally succumbing to her injuries on July 1. She was 37. Twelve other civilians were also killed in the attack, including three children.

For all who knew her and her brave and beautiful work, Victoria’s death was devastating. I was fortunate to have her as an early TFP guest in August 2022, six months into Russia’s criminal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Our conversation, like everything she did, was brilliant yet kind—full of compassion, commitment, and a deeply held belief that good will eventually prevail over evil, justice over…