Ukrainian writer dies after deadly Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk

July 3 (UPI) -- A Ukrainian writer who was critically injured in Russia's strike on a Kramatorsk restaurant last Tuesday died of her injuries on Saturday in a hospital in Dnipro.

PEN Ukraine said that Victoria Amelina died at Mechnikov Hospital after sustaining her injuries in the missile blast that slammed into a crowded downtown Kramatorsk restaurant last week.

"With our greatest pain, we inform you that Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina passed away," PEN Ukraine said.

The organization said Amelina had been documenting Russian war crimes with the human rights initiative Truth Hounds and was in Kramatorsk with a delegation of Colombian writers and journalists dining at the Ria Lounge restaurant at the time of the strike.

"Victoria was severely injured. Doctors and paramedics in Kramatorsk and Dnipro did everything they could to save her life, but the injuries were fatal and incompatible with life. In the last days of Victoria's life, her closest people and friends were with her," PEN Ukraine said.

At least 10 people initially died in the blast, including three children. The restaurant was popular for military personnel, aid workers and journalists.

PEN Ukraine condemned the strike, noting the death toll now stands at 13 with 60 wounded.

"The analysis of destruction and evidence from witnesses show that Russians use a high-precision Iskander missile. They clearly knew that they were shelling a place with many civilians inside," the organization said.

PEN Ukraine said Amelina had been telling the stories of Ukrainian women and has done advocacy work in other countries. That work included asking governments to increase weapon supplies to Ukraine and demanding justice for those committing war crimes in the conflict.

The organization said Amelina lived briefly in Canada but her family returned to Ukraine, where she received her master's in computer technology cum laude from Lviv Polytechnic University.