Remembering Viktoriia Roshchyna. An international art project in honour of the Ukrainian journalist killed by Russia

This past month has seen a lot of developments regarding the investigation into the death of Viktoriia Roshchyna — the Ukrainian journalist who was captured by the Russians in 2023 and whose death in captivity was announced by Russia in October 2024.

And whilst it's important to reconstruct every detail of Vika's illegal detention and imprisonment, it is also important to remember the person behind the headlines. The 27-year-old Viktoriia who among her friends and colleagues was always known simply as Vika.

The international art project titled "Brave at Heart" had exactly that at its core. Three oil paintings and around 15 prints of Viktoriia's portrait have found homes in newsrooms, cultural spaces and institutions across several countries.

My name is Maria and I am a former colleague of Viktoriia Roshchyna. Vika and I worked in the same office for a couple of years. And even though we had different roles, we came into contact regularly, helping each other out whenever needed.

Vika was always in the office. In fact, we used to joke that no one could ever kick her out of it. And when she wasn't in the office, she was probably in a courtroom. At the time when we worked together, she was reporting on criminal and human rights cases, sitting through many hours-long hearings and then chasing defendants or witnesses around the building until she got the answers she needed for her story.

February 2022 changed everything, as it did for every Ukrainian journalist. Vika moved almost exclusively into reporting on Russia's war crimes and life under occupation. She travelled to places many journalists understandably avoided, determined to document what was happening to people living under Russian control. Vika would simply explain: "If I don't do it, who else will?"

In 2023, after Russia blew up the Kakhovka dam, Vika travelled to the occupied south-east to report on the consequences of the disaster, as well as developments around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

In August that year, contact with Vika was lost. The Russians later acknowledged she was being held in captivity and, according to Russian authorities, she died while detained.

The Brave at Heart project began when a Welsh volunteer called Paul James contacted me through a mutual friend.

Paul had visited Ukraine several times through his volunteer work with Murashky, a charity that prepares meals for Ukrainian soldiers. He told me that during one of his trips to Kyiv, he met Vika at Kyiv railway station. He remembered hearing her story and never forgot it.

On the day news of Vika's death appeared on his Facebook feed, Paul felt compelled to do something in her memory.

His first idea was a mural. He considered not only Kyiv but several other European cities as possible locations. In practice, however, the project felt too ambitious to begin with. That was when somebody suggested starting with an oil portrait instead.

Paul came across Kyiv-based artist Anna Sirosh, who enthusiastically took on the project.

Vika's father, Volodymyr, became involved through me and selected the photograph that would serve as the basis for the portrait. In Anna's painting, Vika wears the Order of Freedom, awarded to her posthumously by President Zelenskyy. In the background is a landscape of Kryvyi Rih, chosen by her father as an important family reference.

Three original paintings and around 15 prints were created.

One original went to Volodymyr. Another was presented to Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda. The third remains with me in the United Kingdom and has accompanied me to several public events where I have spoken about Vika's life and work, including an address at the Welsh Parliament.

As for the prints, one was donated to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, another to the Memorial platform, and another to the newsroom of NV, where our mutual colleague Romeo Kokriatski works.

One print was gifted to the Ukrainian Hub in Cardiff, Wales, through former Welsh parliament member Mick Antoniw. Another hangs in an office in the United States.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, one more print was presented to the cultural department of Kherson City Council. An official event was held to mark the handover. Today, the portrait is expected to travel between several underground cultural spaces across Kherson, allowing more people to see it despite the constant danger posed by Russian shelling.

Vika reported from Kherson when it was under occupation and, like Vika herself, the city knows all too well what repression and the struggle for freedom look like.

Each recipient of a portrait was chosen for a reason: from the newsrooms where Vika worked, to colleagues who knew her personally, to Kherson, a city whose recent history reflects many of the themes Vika spent her life documenting.

Memory matters. Because Russia is not only trying to destroy Ukrainians physically. It is also trying to erase our voices, our presence and our history.

Vika wanted the world to know what Russia does to Ukrainians. It is now our responsibility to make sure the world does not forget Vika.

Maria Romanenko