BBC Names Victoria Amelina’s Final Book Among 40 Best Reads for 2025 Following Her Death in Russian Strike

The BBC's British edition has recognized the late Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina's book as one of the 40 most captivating reads recommended for 2025. Amelina lost her life on July 2, 2023, after being critically injured in a Russian missile attack on Kramatorsk in June of the same year.

Her book, ‘War & Justice Diary: Looking at Women Looking at War.’ is set to be published on February 18, 2025, by the American publishing house St. Martin’s Press.

Acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Atwood wrote the foreword to the book, which recounts the stories of women who helped uncover the occupation diary of tortured children’s writer and volunteer Volodymyr Vakulenko.

Amelina was a devoted documentarian of war crimes committed by Russian forces. Among her significant contributions was the discovery of Vakulenko’s diary in the liberated Kharkiv region. Her work and her book serve as a testament to the resilience and courage of those who strive to shed light on the human cost of war.

The Soviet Union has historically persecuted Ukrainian cultural figures—in an attempt to erase Ukraine’s identity and stifle dissent. Today, Russia continues to do the same.