Russian Defense Ministry Confirms Detention of Missing Ukrainian Journalist

The Russian Defense Ministry has admitted for the first time that it is holding Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna captive. Roshchina disappeared almost a year ago, in August 2023.

This information was revealed in a letter received by the journalist's father, Volodymyr Roshchyn, in response to his inquiry to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The letter, dated April 17, 2024, and prepared by the Russian military police, states, "According to available information, Roshchyna Victoria, born on 6.10.1996, has been detained and is on the territory of the Russian Federation."

Victoria Roshchyna has been reporting for Hromadske, Ukrainska Pravda, and Radio Liberty since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.

In March 2022, she was detained by the FSB of Russia while leaving Berdyansk for Mariupol and was held for ten days before being released. Her reporting earned her the Award for Courage in Journalism from the International Women's Media Foundation in 2022.

In August 2023, Roshchyna disappeared while preparing a report in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. According to her father, she left Ukraine for Poland on July 27 and intended to enter the occupied east of Ukraine through Russia.

Her last contact with her parents was on August 3. Despite appeals to the occupation prosecutor's office of Mariupol and various Russian authorities, no criminal cases have been opened against her, and the family's inquiries have gone unanswered.

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