Ukrainian journalist Victoriia Roshchyna goes missing in the temporarily occupied territory

Ukrainian journalist Victoriia Roshchyna disappeared in the temporarily occupied territory in August 2023.

The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) and The Daily Beast reported this.

The journalist left Ukraine for Poland on July 27 to get to the occupied territory. Roshchyna planned to arrive in occupied eastern Ukraine via Russia in three days.

The last time the woman was heard from was on August 3. She said that she had passed several days of border checks but did not specify her whereabouts.

On August 12, the Security Service of Ukraine informed the family that Roshchyna had been captured by the Russians.

"Government officials tell us that there are many 'frozen' Ukrainian prisoners in Russian prisons, and she may be among them," Roshchyna's father said.

In March 2022, the Russians already detained Viktoriia Roshchyna. She was released 10 days later.

"I asked her to slow down after her first captivity, I said: "Vika, I can pay you a salary, but please don't go to the frontline," but she was firm, unmoved," said Volodymyr Roshchyn.

Roshchyna worked for the Hromadske media outlet and also contributed to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and Ukrainska Pravda.

"She is not a spy, she is a real journalist, she cares about the fate of people who remained in the occupied territories. It is important for her to tell their stories," said Sevgil Musayeva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda.

In 2022, Viktoria Roshchyna received the IWMF Award for Courage in Journalism.