Ukrainian journalist dies in Russian captivity Russian news agency Mediazona said the journalist died while being transferred to Moscow from a prison in Taganrog, near the border with Ukraine, in preparation for his release, Radio Free Europe reports.
Victoria Roshchina, who turns 28 this month, was reporting in eastern Ukraine when she was captured in August 2023.
Roshchyna went missing until April 2024, when her father received a letter from the Moscow Defense Ministry saying she was being held in Russia, according to the Union of Major Journalists of Ukraine.
The circumstances of his detention have not been made public and it is unclear where in Russia he is being held, The Guardian reported.
“Unfortunately, information about Victoria’s death has been confirmed,” Petro Yatchenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s POW Coordination Headquarters, was quoted as saying by The Guardian on Thursday. “It is still too early to talk about the circumstances of death – we are working to determine them,” he added.
According to Radio Free Europe, Yatchenko revealed that before Roshchina’s death, efforts were being made to free her from a Russian prison where she was being held along with at least 25 Ukrainian journalists. These journalists have been detained or disappeared in Russian-controlled areas.
Press rights group Reporters Without Borders expressed shock at Victoria’s death and offered condolences to her family.
According to human rights groups, thousands of Ukrainians who oppose Moscow’s rule have been detained in the occupied territories since the Russian invasion began in 2022, many of them tortured by security forces, the same source points to.
In May, Ukraine said more than two dozen Ukrainian media workers were in Russian captivity and that negotiations were underway for their return.
Victoria Roshchyna freelanced for several independent media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, and collaborated with Radio Free Europe’s Ukrainian Service.
In 2022, she was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award by the International Women’s Media Foundation for her reporting in eastern Ukraine.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”