According to the Ukrainian secret service, captured Ukrainian journalist Viktoriya Roshtchina died in Russia under still unclear circumstances. Particularly tragic: the 28-year-old was about to undergo a prisoner exchange.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian secret service SBU, Andriy Yusov, told public broadcaster Suspilne that Roshchina was on a list of prisoners to be exchanged.
Long hunger strike
“The fact that she was transferred from the city of Taganrog to Moscow was a stage in the preparation for her release,” confirmed the head of the Coordination Staff for Prisoner Affairs, Petro Yatsenko. According to media reports, the prisoner was on a prolonged hunger strike.
Roshtchina was a freelancer for the Ukrainian media “Ukrainska Pravda” and Gromadske Radio, as well as for the US-funded Radio Liberty.
Disappeared in August 2023
The Ukrainian disappeared in August 2023 in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. In July she traveled from the government-controlled part of Ukraine via Poland to the occupied territories. In 2022, she was arrested once in the southern Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk, which is controlled by Russian forces, but was later released.
Father received a letter
According to Ukraine’s main journalists’ union, her father received a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry in April saying his daughter was in Russian custody. The circumstances of her arrest have not been disclosed. The letter also contained no details about her whereabouts.
The organization ‘Reporters Without Borders’ demanded full explanations on Friday and criticized the fact that Russian authorities had never released information about the detainee despite numerous requests from the family.
Seventeen journalists have been killed so far
At least seventeen journalists have been killed while reporting on the war in Ukraine, according to international organizations. According to Ukrainian information, more than twenty Ukrainian media representatives are currently imprisoned in Russian prisons. Negotiations for their return are therefore ongoing.
Author hopes for resistance against Putin
Meanwhile, author Dmitry Glukhovsky, who has fled Russia, is hoping for resistance from people in his exile in Western Europe against Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. “In the last thirty years before the war, people of a generation grew up who strive for a normal, human, happy and free life,” the 45-year-old told the German news agency.
“Russia must be refounded”
Tens of millions of urban Russians do not support the war against Ukraine and have the potential to resist the system. Glukhovsky’s new book “We. Diary of a Demise” (Heyne Verlag) was published. In it he uses many events of the past ten years to examine how Russia has developed under Putin into an increasingly authoritarian state. From his point of view, things are heading towards the abyss. It is necessary to restore Russia as a state because Putin has led the country into an impasse, Glukhovsky said about the publication of the book.
The author was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a prison camp in August 2023 in a controversial trial for allegedly discrediting the Russian military. His books, which were bestsellers in Russia, are also practically banned in his home country.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
