Death of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna: case reclassified as war crime combined with premeditated murder

Anastasia Protz — Friday, 11 October 2024, 11:21

Viktoriia Roshchyna. Photo: Roshchyna on social media

The criminal case opened over the disappearance of Ukrainian freelance writer Viktoriia Roshchyna has been reclassified as a war crime combined with premeditated murder.

Source: Office of the Prosecutor General

Quote: "On 10 October, the media published information about the death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who was illegally detained by the Russian Federation.

In this regard, the criminal proceedings initiated over her disappearance under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was supplemented with Part 2 of Article 438 (...), which concerns violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder."

Details: The Prosecutor General’s Office said that the investigation would be carried out by the Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine under the supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office.

Background:

In March 2022, Roshchyna was captured by the Russians and held for 10 days in Berdiansk, Donetsk Oblast.
In 2022, Roshchyna wrote a series of articles for Ukrainska Pravda from the temporarily occupied territories. In particular, she wrote about the life of occupied Crimea during the war and how a sham referendum was held in occupied Donetsk Oblast. She also made a photo report from the destroyed city of Mariupol.
Roshchyna left Ukraine for Poland on 25 July 2023 to travel to the occupied territory. She planned to reach the occupied part of Ukraine's east via Russia in three days.
Roshchyna disappeared on 3 August 2023 in the Russian-occupied territory from where she was reporting.
In May 2024, Russia admitted for the first time that it had detained Roshchyna. The Russian Ministry of Defence sent a letter of confirmation to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn.
On 10 October 2024, Petro Yatsenko, the head of the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said during the 24/7 national joint newscast that Viktoriia Roshchyna had died in Russian custody. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said that she was to be brought back to Ukraine in the near future.
Later, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, said that he had received confirmation of Roshchyna’s death from the Russian side.