The Verkhovna Rada supported a parliamentary request to President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 14 regarding the posthumous awarding of the title “Hero of Ukraine” to Viktoriia Roschina. This appeal was initiated by a group of 26 members of parliament. A total of 246 lawmakers voted in favor of it.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Justification and Investigation
On April 29, the international project Viktoriia Project published an investigation regarding the death of Viktoriia Roschina, who collaborated with various media outlets, including Radio Liberty. According to information obtained during the investigation, a body showing signs of torture and dissection, which, according to forensic examination, belongs to Roschina, was found with numerous signs of violence.
“The body, which according to forensic data belongs to Roschina, has numerous signs of torture and traces of dissection”
The investigative group confirmed that the body was brought to Ukraine with signs of dissection conducted on Russian territory. Sources from the security forces also reported that some internal organs were missing — specifically, the brain, eyeballs, and part of the trachea.
Circumstances of Viktoriia Roschina’s Disappearance and Death
In October 2024, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War in Ukraine, Petro Yatsenko, reported that Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roschina, who went missing during a trip to occupied territories and was held captive by Russia, died there. Russian occupiers first detained her in Berdyansk in March 2022 while she was reporting for media outlets, including Radio Liberty, about life in temporarily occupied territories. She was later released, forced to record a video statement claiming she had no grievances against the Russian military.
After returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory, she went back to the Russian-occupied lands in July 2023. On August 3, 2023, she lost contact with her family. According to her father, she left Ukraine for Poland on July 27 and was supposed to reach the occupied territories through Russia in three days. The family received confirmation from the Ukrainian security service about her detention by Russian forces.
About the Life and Work of Viktoriia Roschina
Viktoriia Roschina was a well-known journalist, author of a series of reports for Radio Liberty and other Ukrainian media. She collaborated with “Ukrainska Pravda,” hromadske, “Ukrainian Radio,” “UA:Pershyi,” and “Tsenzor.net.” Her work was marked by an active journalistic stance during difficult wartime, but her fate became tragic due to Russian aggression and prolonged persecution.