The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution to hold an annual ceremony honoring journalists and war correspondents called Victory for Viktoria, dedicated to journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who was tortured in Russian captivity.
This was stated by Yevhenia Kravchuk, deputy head of the “Servant of the People” faction.
The event will be dedicated to media professionals who risk their lives while performing their professional duties, and will be held during the PACE autumn session.
Ukrainian journalists Vladyslav Yesypenko and Dmytro Khylyuk, who were also captured, were present at the debate and voting. They shared their own stories about their experiences.
"This resolution is not only about journalists, itʼs about democracy. Because where there is no freedom for journalists, there is no freedom for people!" Kravchuk wrote.
The capture and death of Viktoria Roshchyna
Viktoria Roshchyna was first captured by the Russians in March 2022. She was traveling from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol, but ended up in occupied Berdyansk, where she was held for 10 days. There, the journalist was forced to record a video saying that she did not blame Russia.
A year later, on August 3, 2023, Roshchyna disappeared in the temporarily occupied territories from where she was supposed to report. After August 3, Victoria did not get in touch. In May 2024, Russia confirmed that it was again holding her captive.
On October 10, it became known that Roshchyna died during a transfer from Taganrog to Moscow. The cause of her death and when it happened were not reported.
The GUR representative Andriy Yusov told Babel that Ukraine already had agreements on Roshchynaʼs return home, and she was supposed to return to Ukraine in the near future.
On October 11, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office further qualified the criminal proceedings opened into her disappearance, adding Part 2 of Article 438 of the countryʼs Criminal Code — violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.
Roshchynaʼs body was returned to Ukraine in late February 2025. She was identified through DNA testing. According to the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the journalistʼs body. Due to the condition of the body, it was not possible to determine the cause of death.
The international organization “Forbidden Stories” found out that the journalistʼs body was returned without some internal organs. Presumably, they wanted to hide the cause of her death.
Later, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office reported that they found numerous injuries on the journalistʼs body — bone fractures, hemorrhages in various parts of the body, a broken rib.
On August 8, Kyiv got a farewell to a journalist who died in Russian captivity.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.