A tragic incident has shaken the journalism world as Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who was captured by Moscow while reporting from occupied east Ukraine, has passed away in Russian detention. The 28-year-old journalist went missing in August last year after traveling to Russian-held east Ukraine for a report. Her father received a letter from Moscow’s Defense Ministry in April 2024 confirming her detention, but the circumstances of her arrest and the location of her detention remained undisclosed.
Unfortunately, Petro Yatsenko from Ukraine’s Prisoners of War Coordination Headquarters confirmed the news of Roshchyna’s death, stating that they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding it. The press rights group Reporters Without Borders expressed shock over her passing and extended condolences to her loved ones.
Russian news outlet Mediazona reported that Roshchyna died while being transferred from a prison in Taganrog to Moscow. She was known for her work as a freelancer for various independent news outlets and had received the Courage in Journalism award in 2022 for her reporting from east Ukraine.