Kyiv holds farewell for journalist tortured, killed in Russian captivity

[ad_1] A farewell ceremony was held in Kyiv on Aug. 8 for Viktoriia Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian captivity after torture within the fall of 2024.

Her dying has grow to be a stark image of Russia's systemic abuse of Ukrainian civilians and the brutal dangers confronted by journalists in occupied territories.

Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 whereas reporting from Russian- occupied territories . Moscow admitted to detaining her the next 12 months.

The journalist's physique was returned to Ukraine in late February 2024, falsely labeled as that of an "unidentified man." DNA testing later confirmed her id.

Ukrainian authorities formally confirmed her dying on Oct. 10, 2024, although the trigger stays below investigation. Russia claims she died on Sept. 19.

<img alt="People mourn at the coffin of Victoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died while in Russian captivity, during her funeral ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 8, 2025. " loading="lazy" width="800" height="450" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent;object-fit:cover" sizes="50vw" srcset="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=384&q=100 384w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=640&q=100 640w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=750&q=100 750w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=828&q=100 828w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=1080&q=100 1080w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=1200&q=100 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=1920&q=100 1920w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=2048&q=100 2048w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=3840&q=100 3840w" src="https://kyivindependent.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.kyivindependent.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F08%2FGettyImages-2228281795.jpg&w=3840&q=100"/> Individuals mourn on the coffin of Victoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died whereas in Russian captivity, throughout her funeral ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 8, 2025. (Roman Pilipey / AFP by way of Getty Photos) A memorial service was held at St. Michael's Cathedral, adopted by a public farewell on Independence Sq. (Maidan Nezalezhnosti). Roshchyna will probably be buried in a Kyiv cemetery.

A media investigation revealed that her physique was returned with a number of lacking organs, prompting suspicions that the disfigurement was meant to hide indicators of suffocation.

The day earlier than the ceremony, Ukraine's Prosecutor Normal's Workplace charged the top of Russia's Detention Heart No. 2 in Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, in absentia for organizing the torture and dying of Roshchyna and different Ukrainian detainees.

🕯🇺🇦 Kyiv bids farewell to journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who was killed in Russian captivity.

In Aug. 2023, she went lacking whereas reporting from Russian-occupied territory. Roshchyna had travelled there to doc the lives of civilians below Russian management.

When she… pic.twitter.com/GLTI4PI6im

— Denys from Kharkiv (@GlushkoDenys) August 8, 2025

In accordance with prosecutors, Russian forces detained Roshchyna in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast and transferred her to the Taganrog facility, the place she was systematically tortured, denied medical care and water, overwhelmed, and psychologically pressured to cooperate.

The suspect, who has not been publicly named, is accused of inhumane therapy of civilians by a bunch appearing in collusion. If convicted, he faces as much as 12 years in jail.

Prosecutors stated the suspect knowingly violated worldwide regulation, together with the Geneva Conventions , by focusing on a civilian journalist protected below wartime authorized norms.

If authoritarians are scared of journalists, we must be doing something right

“How do we continue convincing our few remaining allies that journalists’ work is important?” Last month, I was sitting on stage at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Europe’s biggest journalism conference, when I heard this question from an audience member. The answer came to me fast. “Point at who is killing journalists,” I suggested. I then reminded the room about the case of Viktoriia Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist killed in Russian captivity. She took a huge risk to go

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