Wiktoria Roszczyna is dead, the journalist was abducted and imprisoned by the Russians

“I have official confirmation from Russia of the death of journalist Victoria Roshchyna, illegally deprived of her liberty by Russia. Sincere condolences to her relatives and loved ones,” the Ukrainian spokesman wrote on Telegram on Thursday evening human rights Dmytro Lubinec.

Roszczyna went missing in the territories occupied by Russia in August last year, where she prepared press reports. She was wanted by her family and appropriate services. After nine months, in May this year, Russian authorities confirmed that he was in prison in their country. Lubinec recalled that Roszczyna was illegally taken prisoner by the Russians. The circumstances of her death are unknown. The Russian website reported that she died on September 19.

Head of the commission for freedom of speech in the Verkhovna Rada Ukraine Jarosław Jurczyszyn reported that Wiktoria Roszczyna's parents received notification of their daughter's death.

Earlier on Thursday, the media, including me, wrote about the journalist's death. incl. portal Ukraińska Pravda, with which she cooperated. “I still can't gather my thoughts and believe it. Wika was incredibly brave. She touched upon the most difficult topics. It was important for her to talk about Ukrainians in the occupied territories. It was impossible to stop her or stop her. She completely devoted herself to journalism,” recalled the editor-in-chief of Ukraińska The truths of Sevgil Musayev.

Reports that Roszczyna died during a prison transport from Taganrog to Moscow have not been officially confirmed yet. In an interview with the Suspilne TV portal, the representative of Ukraine's military intelligence, Andriy Yusov, said that Roshchyna was on the prisoner exchange lists and it was expected that he would return to Ukraine soon.

Wiktoria Roszczyna would have turned 28 on October 6. Since the outbreak of Russian aggression, she has cooperated with a number of Ukrainian media. She prepared publications about military operations in the east and south of Ukraine, and reported on the events from Berdyansk in the Zaporizhia Oblast in March 2022. She was then detained in this city by officers of the Federal Security Service. After 10 days she was released.

Earlier, after her disappearance, Sevgil Musaeva appealed to the Ukrainian authorities to “do everything possible to find the journalist” and to the Russian authorities to “immediately release the reporter.”