Victoria Roshchyna was a young Ukrainian journalist whose mission was to speak for the people in Ukraine who currently have no voice at all, the Ukrainians living in territories occupied by Russia. She is recognized as a national hero by her peers, the only journalist who would enter the occupied territories to report on conditions there. She was captured and imprisoned by Russian authorities, and she died in captivity sometime between 2023 and 2024.

Sevgil Musayev, her former employer at Ukrainska Pravda, tells us about her work, her captivity, her death and its aftermath.

Sevgil Musayeva is Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda, the primary Ukrainian online news media. Musayeva is, herself, a renowned journalist known for her work and activism. She was named by Time Magazine as one of their top 100 most influential people of 2022. A Ukrainian from Crimea, she was an initiator of the KrymSOS web portal.

Please be advised that this story includes terrible details of cruelty, suffering and torture. 

CC prison image