Journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna killed in captivity: a tribute through 7 of her best articles

Ukrainska Pravda freelance journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna tragically died while in Russian captivity, just before a planned prisoner swap that was supposed to bring her home. She was scheduled to be transferred to Lefortovo prison in Moscow as part of the process leading to her return to Ukraine. Roshchyna was first captured by Russian forces in March 2022 and detained in the occupied city of Berdiansk for ten days.

Undeterred, she continued her work, and on July 25, 2023, she left Ukraine for Poland, intending to travel through Russia to report from the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine. She disappeared on August 3, 2023, while on assignment in Russian-controlled territory. For months, her fate remained unknown.

It wasn't until May 2024 that Russian authorities confirmed her detention, with Russia's Defence Ministry sending an official letter to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn. On October 10, 2024, it was officially reported that Viktoriia Roshchyna had died while in captivity.

Here are seven articles written by Viktoriia for Ukrainska Pravda, a testament to her courage and dedication to uncovering the truth amidst war.

All Collages: Andrii Kalistratenko, Ukrainska Pravda

Two sixteen-year-old Ukrainians, Tigran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov, were shot dead by Russian occupiers in the southern city of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov. The occupiers claimed that the boys were the first to open fire in a local park.

The teenagers continued to resist the Russians and did not hide their pro-Ukrainian stance. On entering the Berdiansk commandant's office, Tigran said, "Glory to Ukraine!" Those were also his last words before he was killed. Viktoriia Roshchyna has tried to reconstruct the day of the tragedy.

"Crimea could be Ukrainian again," local residents of Russian-occupied Crimea told Ukrainska Pravda last autumn when discussing a possible counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces.

There have been increasing complaints from the occupying authorities of explosions and Ukrainian drone attacks. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed "head" of Crimea, has been actively working on building fortifications and establishing private armies to send soldiers to war and protect the occupying administrations and local businesses. This article looks at these private armies in more detail.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.

They are suspected of facilitating the forced deportation of children from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories in violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Were all the children deported by force? Who, apart from the Russians, is contributing to the attempts to "Russify" Ukrainian children?

What methods does the Russian Federation use to "re-educate" young Ukrainians, and is Ukraine doing enough to get them back? The details are in this article.

Enerhodar, the city where the nuclear power plant is located, was one of the first cities Russian forces occupied in 2022. The occupiers are turning Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) into a military base at the moment, hiding behind the largest nuclear facility in Europe.

They are holding thousands of employees captive there, banning them from leaving the city and forcing them to sign contracts with Rosatom, a Russian state nuclear corporation. Viktoriia Roshchyna has managed to speak with both nuclear power engineers that are still working under occupation and those who have left. They have given accounts of the first days of the capture of the plant, the pressure on employees and the role of the IAEA monitoring mission in what is happening.

Recruiting agents, murders, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, putting proxies in senior positions within the occupying authorities, suppressing pro-Ukrainian sentiment - this is the work of Russia's Federal Security Service (the FSB) in Ukraine.

Or, to be more precise, the work of several "Ukrainian" units, as the secret servicemen refer to them among themselves. They infiltrated our country's most secure state structures, with agents among law enforcement officers, priests, members of parliament, and ordinary citizens ready to betray Ukraine's interests. This story describes the role that Russia's most covert security structure has played in the war against our country.

PHOTO: VIKTORIIA ROSHCHYNA

Saturday, 14 January 2023 brought tragedy to the residents of an apartment block in the city of Dnipro when their building was hit by a Russian missile.

46 people have been killed. Viktoriia Roshchyna reports on the details of the tragic attack.

Until recently, the Wagner Private Military Company was one of the most obscure security agencies in Russia. It is subordinate to Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is close to Vladimir Putin.

Prigozhin denied this for many years, and it was not until 2022 that he admitted for the first time that he is indeed behind the Wagner Group. The Russian secret services have involved Wagnerites in combat actions in Syria, Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Madagascar and Ukraine. They have committed numerous war crimes, including many in our state, Ukraine.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started, Wagner units have come to Ukraine to fight again.

Viktoriia Roshchyna's article explains what the Wagner Group is now, who its members are and what part they play in Russia's war against Ukraine.