Kyiv bids farewell to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, killed in Russian captivity – photos
On Friday 8 August, a funeral was held in Kyiv for Viktoriia Roshchyna, the Ukrainian journalist who was killed in Russian captivity last year.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
Details: A memorial service took place at St Michael’s Cathedral, followed by a public farewell ceremony at Independence Square and burial at Baikove Cemetery.
The ceremony was organised by colleagues from several editorial teams Roshchyna had worked with. Her family had asked that no media requests for comment be directed to them during the ceremony.
Viktoriia began her career in journalism at the age of 16, focusing on crime, human rights and the judicial system. After Russia’s full-scale invasion, she reported from frontline and occupied areas. Some of her work was published by Ukrainska Pravda.
Background:
- In March 2022, Roshchyna was captured by Russian forces and held for 10 days in the temporarily occupied city of Berdiansk.
- In 2022, Roshchyna wrote a series of articles for Ukrainska Pravda from the temporarily occupied territories. Her work included stories about life in occupied Crimea during the war, the sham referendum in occupied Donetsk Oblast, and a photo report from the devastated city of Mariupol.
- On 25 July 2023, Roshchyna left Ukraine for Poland, planning to make the three-day journey via Russia to the occupied part of Ukraine's east.
- On 3 August 2023, Roshchyna went missing in Russian-occupied territory.
- It was not until May 2024 that Russia admitted to having detained Roshchyna. The Russian Ministry of Defence sent a letter confirming this to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously awarded the Order of Freedom to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna on 2 August.
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