The digital newspaper Hromatsky, which he works for, reported this Tuesday that Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchina has been in the hands of Russian secret services since March 15 after recording a video claiming that Russian forces had saved her life.
“On March 21, the invaders released Hromatsky journalist Victoria Roshchina from prison.
A few hours ago, pro-Russian media and channels began airing a video on the Telegram platform in which the journalist dismissed any complaint against his captives, claiming that the Russians had saved his life.
According to the digital newspaper he works for, the video was a condition for his release, and Roshchina recorded it under pressure.
A Ukrainian journalist has been detained by Russian security services (the KGB’s successor, the FSP), after returning from a report on the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the eastern city of Encore.
Hromadske condemned the disappearance of its journalist, who had served in the eastern and southern parts of the conflict since the start of the Russian offensive, and pointed out that he might be at the hands of the FSB.
The Ukrainian photojournalist went missing today
However, the disappearance of a Ukrainian photojournalist in a war zone near the capital raises fears that he may have been wounded, killed or captured by Russian forces.
UNIAN News Agency Maksym Levin contacted a friend of Vyshhorod near Kiev on March 13, pointing out that his whereabouts were unknown.
Friend Markiyan Lyseiko said Levine went to the area in his vehicle and documented the fighting there.
According to Lysiko, Levine left his car near the village of Huda Mejihirska and was on his way to the village of Moschun, where he could not be contacted or viewed online.
Maxim Levine has worked as a photojournalist and video director for several Ukrainian and international publications.
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned on Monday that a Ukrainian citizen has been working as a “fixer” and a translator for foreign newspapers since 2013, after the French channels France 2, BFM TV and RFI were hijacked on March 5. Were “repeatedly tortured” by the military.
Detained for nine days, the 32-year-old Ukrainian ‘fixer’ was imprisoned in an icy basement and “beaten with an iron bar, tortured with electricity and subjected to simulated death,” the NGO wrote.
“Nikita (false name used for security reasons) gave us thrilling testimony that confirms the seriousness of the Russian military’s war crimes against journalists. The least we can do for this brave young man is to present his testimony to the lawyer of the International Criminal Court, “argued RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloitte.
Ukrainian journalist Oleg Badur, who was released on March 20 after being treated like Nikita for eight days at the hands of the Russian military, declared: “They wanted to destroy me, pass me by and show me what to do. It will happen to all journalists who are killed.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”