Victoria Amelina's book Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary was named the best book on human rights published between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
The Christopher Moore Foundation posthumously awarded the prize to Ukrainian author Viktoria Amelina, who died in Kramatorsk before she could finish the book. This was reported on the official website of the award.
The award is presented by the Christopher Moore Foundation for non-fiction works that explore the themes of dignity, freedom, and human rights. The 2025 jury was deeply impressed by the ruthless description of war crimes and the devastating changes that the war brought to every person and family throughout Ukraine.
When the war in Ukraine began in 2022, Amelina was working on a new book. She became a chronicler of the war and of the brave women who, like herself, joined the resistance. Viktoria traveled around the country, documenting the effects of the war with photographs of destroyed houses, schools, and public buildings, and recording the testimonies of eyewitnesses and survivors of the atrocities.
Her death occurred during another research trip to the Donetsk region, when Russia struck the RIA Pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk in June 2023, where many people were dining that day.
The collection of interviews, diary entries, audio files, and notes gathered by Amelie to complete the book was used by friends and colleagues to prepare the unfinished manuscript for publication. The result is an extraordinary account of the horrors of war, the price of resistance, and women as agents of change. Women Who Look at War is an important document for future justice and future generations.
Founder of the foundation Christopher Moore notes:
"Victoria Amelina's account of Russian war crimes in Ukraine is a stark reminder of the sacrifice of a journalist driven by a passion to expose the truth about lives destroyed by the Russian invasion. The book is a testament to Amelina's courage in drawing attention to the devastating effects of war on ordinary Ukrainians. Amidst a barrage of propaganda and misinformation, her legacy remains an important testimony to what happened and continues to happen."