Victoria Roshchyna awarded the Order of Freedom posthumously

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna with the Order of Freedom posthumously.

Roshchyna was honored “for her courage, patriotism, and selfless defense of the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as the constitutional rights and freedoms of Ukrainian people.”

Roshchyna filmed and wrote from hotspots in the East and the South of Ukraine, covering such topics as crime and judicial proceedings, and worked with Ukrainian Radio, UA:Pershyi, and also wrote for Crimea.Realities, Censor.net, and Hromadske.

Roshchyna was reported missing on August 3, 2023, while traveling to the territories occupied by Russia. On July 27, 2023, Roshchyna left Ukraine for Poland and was supposed to reach the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine (through the territory of Russia) in three days. She last spoke to her family on August 3, when she said she had passed several border checks but did not inform them of her exact location.

In April 2024, replying to an inquiry by Volodymyr Roshchyn, Victoria’s father, the Ministry of Defense of Russia acknowledged that she was being held in Russia. Roschyna’s family submitted a request to the so-called Mariupol prosecutor’s office and were informed that there were no criminal proceedings against the journalist. On October 10, it became known that Roschyna had died in Russian captivity.

In 2022, Roshchyna had already been taken captive, and the editorial team of Hromadske media lost contact with her on March 12 while she was in the temporarily occupied Berdiansk. The Prosecutor General’s Office launched a criminal case regarding her abduction by the occupying forces. Later, on March 22, Hromadske reported that the occupiers had released the journalist, having compelled her to record a video in which she denied making any accusations against the Russian special services.

The Reporters Without Borders organization called for an investigation into the death of Roshchyna.

The funeral service for the journalist will take place in Kyiv on August 8. The service will be held at St. Michael’s Cathedral at 12:00. A short civil ceremony will take place on Independence Square at 1:00 p.m., followed by burial at the Baikove Cemetery at 2:00 p.m.

RELATED: List of Ukrainian journalists detained by Russia revealed

Main image: screenshot of video by Hromadske

Image: Mykola Tsymbaliuk

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn