Russia not return body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna in prisoner swap

Russia did not return the body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity, to Ukraine during the 18 October prisoner exchange, Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War told Suspilne.

Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had been missing since August 2023, reportedly died while in Russian captivity, Ukrainian authorities confirmed on 10 October 2024.

Roshchyna, a freelance journalist who had previously worked with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and other prominent Ukrainian media outlets, went missing on 3 August 2023 during a trip to Russian-occupied territories.

According to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn, she had left Ukraine for Poland on 27 July 2023 and was supposed to reach the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine via Russia within three days.

Ukraine has recently returned 95 of its defenders from Russian captivity. However, the journalists’ bodies were not among those who returned.

“The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War is doing everything possible and impossible to get all the answers to the questions that concern everyone in our society,” Yatsenko told Suspilne.

Yatsenko said it is premature to discuss the cause of the journalist’s death, including whether she was subjected to torture. He emphasized that work on repatriating Roshchyna’s body began immediately after the news of her death, but the process depended on the opposing side.

“We cannot give an exact date for repatriation,” Yatsenko said, suggesting that the Russian side may be delaying the return to conceal evidence of a possible crime.

Roshchyna had been reporting from the frontlines since the start of the full-scale invasion. She was initially detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service in occupied Berdiansk on 16 March 2022 and released on 22 March after being forced to record a video denying any claims against Russian special services.

The journalist went missing again on 3 August while reporting from occupied territory. Her family fears Russians held her. Roshchyna’s father said she left Ukraine for Poland on 27 July, intending to reach occupied eastern Ukraine via Russia within three days.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine announced on 11 October that the criminal proceedings opened in connection with Roshchyna’s disappearance had been reclassified as a war crime combined with premeditated murder following reports of her death in Russia.

Roshchyna worked for various Ukrainian media outlets, including Ukrainian Radio, UA:First, hromadske, Ukrainska Pravda, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

In 2022, she received the International Women’s Media Foundation’s “Courage in Journalism” award.

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