Victoria Amelina Reading Space opened in the European Parliament

On March 11, 2025, the European Parliament in Strasbourg held the opening ceremony of the Victoria Amelina Reading Space.

Yaryna Grusha, a journalist and translator who reported about the opening of the reading room, said that a space in European institutions has been dedicated to a Ukrainian for the first time. Meanwhile, the Victoria Amelina Reading Space is located in the part of the European Parliament dedicated to British statesman and leader Winston Churchill.

The ceremony was launched by Pina Picerno, Vice-President of the European Parliament, who underlined the significance of the event.

“Victoria Amelina is the first Ukrainian citizen to have a dedicated space in European institutions. I believe this political gesture to be crucial and to remind us once again that Ukraine is Europe, and Europe is Ukraine,” Picerno said.

After the official part of the event, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola visited the space and expressed her gratitude to the attendees. Metzola was given an English edition of Victoria Amelina’s book “Looking at Women, Looking at War.” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen also received a copy of the book.

“Amelina believed that Europe was her home. Amelina believed even more in the rule of law and institutions. The Victoria Amelina Reading Space is not a place where Russians will be tried for their war crimes; there will be different spaces to do that. In a way, this room has already become an act of justice for Victoria and all Ukrainians to whom she gave voice in her texts,” Grusha emphasized in her speech.

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Main image: Yaryna Grusha Facebook page

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn