Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna dies in Russian captivity – reports

Source: Yaroslav Yurchyshyn/Telegram

Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, a 2022 Courage in Journalism Award winner, has reportedly died while in Russian captivity. The news comes from Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Speech and a member of the “Holos” party.

Yurchyshyn initially posted about Roshchyna’s death, citing her father as the source of the information, but later  deleted it, arguing that he was awaiting official confirmation from formal channels, according to the Institute of Mass Information (IMI).

Roshchyna’s father received a message from Russian authorities informing him of her death during her transfer from Taganrog to Moscow. “I just spoke with Mr. Volodymyr. Besides offering my condolences, I promised that we will do everything possible to ensure her murderers are brought to justice. The talented journalist was taken hostage by the Russians in August 2023. Now, they have killed her,” Yurchyshyn wrote.

Victoria Roshchyna went missing on August 3, 2023, in the occupied Zaporizhzhia. In May 2024, Moscow officially confirmed that she was held in captivity.