Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had been missing since August 2023, has died while in Russian captivity, Ukrainian authorities reported on 10 October 2024.
Petro Yatsenko, a representative of Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, confirmed the news following an internal investigation.
“Unfortunately, the information about Viktoria’s death has been confirmed,” Yatsenko said in a television statement, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service says.
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Roshchyna, a freelance journalist who had previously worked with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and other prominent Ukrainian media outlets, went missing on 3 August 2023 during a trip to Russian-occupied territories. According to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn, she had left Ukraine for Poland on 27 July 2023 and was supposed to reach the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine via Russia within three days.
The circumstances surrounding Roshchyna’s death remain unclear and are still under investigation, Yatsenko added, according to Ukrinform. He emphasized that efforts were being made to secure her release from Russian captivity, where she was held along with at least 25 other Ukrainian journalists who are either detained or missing within Russian-controlled areas.
Andrii Yusov of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence confirmed that Roshchyna had been slated for a prisoner exchange. The most recent information indicated she was being transferred from Taganrog, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, to Moscow’s Lefortovo detention center in preparation for her release.
Yatsenko stated,
“I think that in any case we will find out about these circumstances. Also, if there are perpetrators, those who caused this death or death, they will be punished. Because such crimes have no statute of limitations.”
Update:
Nobel Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk urged journalistic organizations worldwide to demand an explanation from Russia, asking what had been done to the young woman that led to her death:
Today, I learned the terrible news. Our colleague, journalist Victoria Roshchyna, died in Russian captivity.
I have a question. What did they do with her? What could have been done to a young girl to make her die? I call on all journalistic organizations from different… pic.twitter.com/NxpNE4U4HD
— Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina) October 10, 2024
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