Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna dies in Russian captivity

This information was confirmed by the spokesman for the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko, during a telethon.

The cause of the journalist's death is currently unknown. According to Yatsenko, the circumstances of Viktoria Roshchyna's death are being established.

‘If there are those responsible for this death or murder, they will be punished,’ he added.

The spokesman also said that the journalist was being prepared for an exchange.

What is known about the disappearance of Viktoria Roshchyna

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Viktoria Roshchyna worked for the hromadske media outlet and wrote reports from the temporarily occupied territories. 

On March 7, 2022, she came across a battalion of Russian tanks that opened fire on her car. A week later, the Russian military detained her in the village of Vasylivka, but the journalist managed to escape.

On March 11, 2022, Roshchyna was again taken prisoner by the Russian FSB - according to her, she was captured on her way to Mariupol. She said she was held for a week in Berdiansk.

In October 2023, it became known that Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who received an award for her reporting on the war in Ukraine, disappeared in the temporarily occupied territories. Her family and friends reported that they had lost contact with her since 3 August 2023. 

• In May 2024, Russia admitted that it was holding Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who disappeared in the temporarily occupied territories in August last year, in captivity.