Photo: The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine
Nariman Jelal was the first civilian journalist released from Russian captivity. Viktoriya Roshchyna could have been second.
This was announced by People’s Deputy Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, during a statement on the sidelines of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
He reminded that there is information suggesting that Viktoriya Roshchyna was being prepared for exchange.
«There will be a response from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian government. We, as the Committee on Freedom of Speech, are appealing to the international community. We already have a statement from Reporters Without Borders, who are demanding an investigation into this crime. They condemn Russia’s actions and highlight that the Russian Federation has already killed 12 civilian journalists and is holding a large number of media representatives hostage,» Yurchyshyn said.
He also emphasized that the committee is working with the European and World Federation of Journalists and is planning measures to raise public awareness about other detained civilian journalists. Among them, Yurchyshyn mentioned Dmytro Hylyuk, a journalist with the UNIAN news agency.
Victoria Roshchyna disappeared on August 3, 2023, in the temporarily occupied territories. In May 2024, Russia confirmed for the first time that she was being held captive.
In March 2022, Roshchyna had also been detained by Russian security forces while preparing materials on military operations in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. She had planned to reach Mariupol to document the reality of daily shelling by Russian troops. After 10 days in captivity, she was released.
Before her capture, Roshchyna worked as a journalist for Hromadske for many years. After her release in March 2022, she continued writing for various Ukrainian media outlets.
In the spring and summer of 2022, she worked as a freelance writer for Hromadske Radio, and later published articles in «Ukrainian Pravda» and «Radio Svoboda.» In 2022, she received the International Women’s Media Foundation’s «Courage in Journalism» award.
Her father learned of her death through an official letter from the Russian side, though at that time the information was still being verified. People’s Deputy Yaroslav Yurchyshyn reported on Hromadske Radio that Roshchyna had previously declared a hunger strike due to inhumane treatment.
Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, also confirmed Roshchyna’s death. It is known that she was being prepared for a prisoner exchange.
According to Yatsenko, the exact circumstances of her death are still under investigation. He confirmed that Roshchyna was being prepared for exchange, but «unfortunately, we ran out of time.»
«The fact that she was being transferred from Taganrog to Moscow was part of her preparation for release,» he said.
Former prisoner of the «DPR,» volunteer, and public figure Lyudmila Huseynova reported that Roshchyna died on September 19. According to her, Roshchyna’s body will be returned to Ukraine during the next exchange of bodies.
The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, confirmed that he had received official documentation from the Russian side regarding Roshchyna’s death.
«I have official documentary confirmation from the Russian side about the death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who was illegally deprived of her freedom by Russia. My sincere condolences to Victoria’s family and friends,» he wrote.
Lubinets added that the cause of Roshchyna’s death in Russian captivity remains unknown.
He also informed the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to officially record the death of a civilian illegally detained by the Russian Federation.