Ukrainian reporter Roshchyna dies in Russian detention

The war was her subject.

Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna repeatedly put herself in danger to report on people in the occupied territories of her homeland. She paid for her courage with her life. 

After 15 months in Russian captivity, the 27-year-old died while being transferred from a prison in the southern Russian city of Taganrog to the Russian capital, Moscow. Yet she was close to freedom, as she was reportedly slated to be part of a prisoner exchange.

Petro Yatsenko, a representative of Ukraine's prisoner exchange coordination staff, announced Roshchyna's death on Ukrainian television on October 10. He said the circumstances of her death were unclear.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that a prisoner exchange had been agreed with the Russian Federation. "According to the latest information, she was taken to the Lefortovo remand prison [in Moscow] to prepare for her return home. She should have been home soon," he said.

The journalist's family had previously received a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry stating that Roshchyna had died on September 19, two and a half weeks before her 28th birthday.

At the time of her arrest, Roshchyna had been working as a journalist for about five or six years. She worked for Ukrainska Pravda, an online newspaper, as well as the news websites Novosti Donbassa and censor.net.

Roshchyna held in 'hell on earth' prison

Roshchyna had already been imprisoned. In March 2022, she was arrested and detained by Russia's security service in Berdyansk, a port city in southern Ukraine. However, she was released 10 days later in exchange for Russian soldiers.

In August 2023, she disappeared during a trip to the occupied territories. Her family lost contact with her on August 3, and for almost a year, Roshchyna was considered missing. It was not until May 2024 that Russia officially confirmed that she had been arrested and was being detained in the Russian Federation.

The Taganrog remand prison, where Roshchyna was last held, is a brutal place, explained Tetyana Katrychenko from the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian NGO.

"It is described as hell on earth. It is largely where the defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol are held. Those who are released say there is terrible torture there," she wrote on Facebook.

She said that Roshchyna was held in a solitary cell from at least May to September of this year.

Roshchyna 'courageous' and 'stood by her convictions'

Roshchyna's death has caused consternation and sympathy from colleagues.

According to Tetyana Kosak, editor-in-chief of the online portal Graty, Roshchyna was "courageous" and "stood firmly by her convictions." She said that she was a talented journalist who had a great professional future ahead. "But during the war, all her fuses blew, which is why she was taken prisoner the first time."

Yevhen Buderatskyi, deputy editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, described Roshchyna as "one of the most difficult journalists I've ever worked with" but praised her authenticity and tenacity.

"Sometimes she was unbearable. She took every correction personally," Buderatskyi wrote. "But no matter what happened, Vika remained true to herself as a journalist. You couldn't stop her when she set out to do something.

"Russia killed her, no matter what they are saying there now."

Reporters Without Borders calls for investigation

"We are deeply shocked by Viktoria Roshchyna's death and mourn with her relatives," said Anja Osterhaus from Reporters Without Borders.

"During the entire 15 months that the journalist was in custody, the Russian authorities did not comment on the reasons or accusations. Despite repeated attempts by Reporters Without Borders and Roshchyna's relatives, there was no sign of life."

The Paris-based press freedom organization said it knew of 19 Ukrainian journalists who were currently in Russian detention.

But Oksana Romaniuk, head of Ukraine's Institute for Mass Information, said there were 30 Ukrainian journalists in Russian captivity. "Where is the exchange, the international community?" she asked in a Facebook post.

Minute of silence in Ukrainian parliament

Ukrainian politicians have also expressed their shock regarding the Roshchyna's death. The Ukrainian parliament began its session on October 11 with a minute of silence, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of a "heavy blow."

In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy also recalled the many other journalists, public figures and ordinary people still in Russian captivity. He said that their return had been the main topic during his recent meeting with Pope Francis.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has opened a criminal investigation into Roshchyna's death, and the European Union has called for an immediate and independent inquiry.

"The European Union is appalled by the reports about the death of Ukrainian freelance journalist Victoria Roshchyna while in illegal, arbitrary Russian detention," said Peter Stano, spokesman for the EU's Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. He added that the EU remained "deeply concerned about Russia's ongoing harassment, intimidation and violence against journalists and media workers covering war zones and frontlines."

"We firmly condemn the killings, physical attacks, arbitrary detentions, online and offline intimidation, harassment, and surveillance that journalists at times face while exercising their profession," he continued, underlining that there could be no "impunity for human rights violations and abuses against journalists."

This article was originally published in Ukrainian.