Victoria Amelina was a novelist, essayist and poet, and a friend of the festival, who died following a Russian missile attack in June 2023. After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Amelina trained as a war crimes researcher, travelling to areas liberated from Russian occupation and listening to and recording the testimonies of witnesses and survivors.

In memory of Amelina, PEN Ukraine’s executive director Tetyana Teren, program director of Lviv BookForum Sofia Cheliak and human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk talk to journalist Christina Lamb about Ukrainian women’s fight for justice. They share their future vision of the country, how victory for Ukraine will not happen without just punishment for war criminals, and why women need to be at the centre of it all.

Oleksandra Matviichuk will join remotely