The Group for Social Dialogue (GDS) and PEN Romania organized in Bucharest, on February 19, a commemorative event marking four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and honoring the memory of Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, killed in the June 2023 missile attack on Kramatorsk.
The event opened with remarks by Vlad Alexandrescu, representing GDS, who spoke about literature and civic space as places of the “burning word.” Victoria Amelina was remembered as a writer who chose to speak from “the lived reality of war,” linking literary creation to public responsibility. Alexandrescu also recalled her recovery and publication of the diary of poet Volodymyr Vakulenko, killed by the Russian soldiers and buried in his garden and brought back to light as an act of continuity against erasure.
Moderated by Miruna Vlada, the gathering was framed as an act of active remembrance and solidarity. In a video message, Ruxandra Cesereanu, President of PEN Romania, described Amelina as “a very courageous woman with a strong ethical sense” and recalled the early appeal heard at the beginning of the invasion: “Help us resist!” Resistance, she stressed, requires concrete action and moral consistency.
A key intervention was delivered by H.E. Ihor Procopciuc, Ambassador of Ukraine to Romania. He spoke about Amelina’s literary and civic legacy and about the growing number of writers and artists killed in the war. He described attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure and thanked Romanian civil society for its support. His message emphasized that Russia’s aggression is directed not only against Ukraine, but against democratic values and freedom.
Mariana Sipoș, the initiator of the event, provided a broader cultural and personal context, referring to her connection with Colombian writer Héctor Abad and to the international resonance of the Kramatorsk attack. She highlighted the need to counter propaganda and defend factual truth, especially when civilian spaces and lives are targeted.
During the debate, video footage featuring Héctor Abad was screened, including his September 2023 appearance at the European Parliament in tribute to Victoria Amelina, as well as an excerpt from an interview in which the writer describes the Iskander missile attack on Kramatorsk that killed 13 people, among them Victoria Amelina. Photographs taken by Mihai Vacariu during his recent humanitarian visits to Kyiv were also presented.
Writer Radu Vancu reflected on the continuity of solidarity and on PEN Romania’s initiatives supporting Ukrainian refugees and authors. He articulated one of the central ideas of the evening: “We do not let barbarism have the last word.” His remarks underscored how war transforms a writer’s relationship with language, turning words into an act of responsibility.
Mihai Vacariu, recently returned from Kyiv, described resistance as the persistence of everyday normality. Cultural and social life continue despite attacks, as a refusal to yield. He emphasized that the conflict goes beyond territorial dispute and concerns identity, culture, and language, and referred to concrete initiatives supporting affected families and organizations, as well as collaboration with PEN Ukraine.
Toward the end, Miruna Vlada quoted a line by Victoria Amelina: “As long as a writer is read, they are alive.” The sentence encapsulated the spirit of the event: memory, reading, and solidarity are real forms of cultural resistance.
Text by Mihai Vacariu