Ukrainian PEN and Truth Hounds issue a statement regarding the shelling of Kramatorsk, in which writer Victoria Amelina was injured

PEN Ukraine, a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation established to protect freedom of speech and authors' rights, and Truth Hounds, an organisation which collects evidence of war crimes committed in Ukraine, issued a joint statement regarding the Russian missile attack on Kramatorsk on 27 June, in which writer Victoria Amelina was injured. [Amelina is professionally associated with both organisations – ed.]

"On June 27th, 2023, Russia committed another war crime, sending an Iskander missile with a highly explosive warhead at Ria Lounge restaurant in Kramatorsk, a city in the Eastern part of Ukraine.

At least 12 people are confirmed dead, and 60 are wounded. Three children were among the dead, including two twin 14-year-old girls.

Among the people severely wounded in this crime is our dearest colleague Victoria Amelina: a brilliant award-winning, worldwide known Ukrainian writer and human rights activist," the statement reads. 

The organisations also confirmed that Colombian writer Hector Abad Faciolince, former High Commissioner for Peace Sergio Jaramillo and journalist Catalina Gómez, who were in the restaurant together with Victoria Amelina at the time of the shelling, were slightly injured. 

Victoria Amelina accompanied the Colombians on a trip to Donbas. Photo: @ricarospina / Twitter

After the attack, representatives of the Truth Hounds, joined by Amelina at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, interviewed witnesses of the shelling. They noted that there were no military facilities near the place of the strike. At the time of the attack, about 40 people were dining in one of the city's most popular restaurants. The investigators also established that the foreigners whom Russian propagandists called "mercenaries" were actually volunteers and journalists. 

Read also: On the Iskander missile strike on the Ria pizzeria in Kramatorsk, which claimed the lives of 12 people

"In our opinion, the attack on the Ria Lounge restaurant may qualify as a war crime pursuant to Article 8(2)(b)(ii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Alternatively, such an attack may be qualified under Article 8(2)(b)(i) or Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute of the ICC," the statement reads. 

The site of the rocket attack in Kramatorsk. Photo: Radio Svoboda

Ukrainian PEN and Truth Hounds called on citizens of all countries, human rights activists and cultural organisations to speak on all possible platforms about Russia's crimes and call on the governments of their countries to apply extraterritorial justice mechanisms against the terrorist country. 

Russia struck Kramatorsk with two Iskander missiles on the evening of 27 June. The Russians hit a cafe in the centre of the city, near which many people were. Currently, 12 people are known to have been killed by the strike, including 3 children, and 60 were wounded.

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