An award-winning Ukrainian journalist held in Russian captivity for more than a year was confirmed dead, authorities announced this week.
Victoria Roshchyna, 27, went missing in August 2023 after traveling to Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine for reporting.
A freelance journalist, her work on the front lines shed a light on life in Ukraine under Russian occupation early on in the invasion, which began in 2022.
Roshchyna was missing until April, when her father received a letter from Moscow’s defense ministry claiming she was being held in Russian detention, according to reports.
Even then, the details of her arrest and exactly where she was being held remained unknown.
“Unfortunately, information about Victoria’s death has been confirmed,” Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said on Thursday.
Russian news outlet Mediazona reported that she died while being transferred to Moscow from a prison near the Ukrainian border.
A letter her family allegedly received from Russia’s defense ministry said she died on Sept. 19, according to the group Reporters Without Borders.
Roshchyna was supposed to be part of a prisoner exchange, according to Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov. “Everything necessary had been done” for the swap, he said.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office said it had updated its war-crime investigation into Roshchyna’s disappearance to include murder.
The European Union demanded “a thorough and independent investigation that clarifies all the circumstances” of her death, according to a statement.
“Her fate is a tragic reminder of the many thousands of persons detained in occupied Ukrainian territories and Russia, as well as the repression imposed by Russian authorities,” the EU said.
Roshchyna was awarded the Courage in Journalism award in 2022 by the International Women’s Media Foundation for her reporting.
“We hope her death will not be in vain,” the group said in a statement. “The international community must pressure Russia to cease targeting journalists and silencing press freedom.”
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians and journalists are being held without charges in Russian custody without access to legal counsel, BBC Russia reported in January.
With Post wires