Kyiv says Ukrainian reporter Victoria Roshchyna died in Russian detention

A renowned Ukrainian journalist who first covered Ukrainian life in Russian-occupied Ukraine has passed away in Russian custody.

Victoria Roshchyna, who was 27, worked freelance for Ukrainian media outlets Ukrainska Pravda and Hromadske Radio, as well as for US-funded Radio Liberty.

She vanished in August of last year when she made a reporting trip to Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

In a letter to her father in May, the Russian-led Ministry of Defense acknowledged that she was in Russian custody.

“Unfortunately, information about Victoria’s death has been confirmed”, Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s prisoners of war coordination headquarters, told Ukrainian television.

He claimed that the death’s cause was still being investigated.

Russia informed Roshchyna’s family on Thursday that she passed away on September 19 according to the media rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

“The Russian authorities have never provided any information about her detention, despite repeated requests from her family, the Ukrainian authorities, and RSF”, Jeanne Cavalier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said in a statement. They “must make light of every aspect of her arrest and death,” she said.

A terrible tragic news: Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who was kidnapped in the occupied territories of Ukraine, has died in a Russian prison. Although it occurred on September 19, her father only learned of it today. She was on hunger strike for many days, many… pic. twitter.com/FHXc5rii2m

Roshchyna wrote vivid accounts of life in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as well as in areas of eastern Ukraine seized by Russian-funded separatists.

After Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, she also documented the nearly three-months of its defense of the Mariupol port.

Shortly after the country started its war, the Russians initially held her for ten days before finally arresting her.

Andriy Yusov, a HUR Intelligence Directorate spokesperson in Ukraine, disclosed to the media that Roshchyna had been undergoing a proposed prisoner exchange and was scheduled to be released from Taganrog, close to the Ukrainian border, in Moscow.

More than 20 Ukrainian media workers were being held in Russian captivity, according to Ukraine, and they were reportedly negotiating their release in May.