On Thursday, October 10, the Coordination Headquarters announced the death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roschyna, who was in Russian captivity. The circumstances of her death are currently unknown. Petro Yatsenko, head of the press service of the coordination headquarters, stated this on the air of the Yedyni Novyni telethon.
Yatsenko noted that the work on Victoria’s release from captivity continued, and her transfer from Taganrog to Moscow was part of the preparation for this process. First, information about the death of the journalist reported head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, who had a conversation with Roschyna’s father. However, he later deleted the message, waiting for official confirmation from Ukrainian law enforcement officers.
Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets officially confirmed the death of the journalist after receiving the relevant document from the Russian side. He expressed his sincere condolences to Victoria’s relatives and friends.
Victoria Roschyna went missing in August 2023 in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In September, her family appealed to the relevant authorities with a wanted statement, and in May 2024, Russia confirmed her detention. This fact was also confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
At present, the reasons for the death of a young woman in Russian captivity remain unknown. Dmytro Lubinets told the UN and the ICRC to record the fact of the death of a civilian illegally detained by Russia, stressing that the kidnapping and illegal detention of journalists is a weapon of the Russian Federation against freedom of speech.
The Ombudsman called on the international community to put pressure on Russia so that all those guilty of such crimes are brought to justice.
