Victoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian captivity, has been posthumously named a 2025 IPI-IMS World Press Freedom Hero. The award will be presented on 24 October 2025 at the University of Vienna during the IPI World Congress and Media Innovation Festival.
The honor recognizes her exceptional courage and resilience in documenting life under Russian occupation and the human cost of war. Her death on 19 September 2024 underscores the extreme dangers faced by journalists reporting from conflict zones and the urgent need to hold perpetrators of press repression accountable.
Captured twice for reporting the truth
Victoria Roshchyna was a freelance Ukrainian journalist known for her fearless coverage from frontlines and occupied territories. She filmed videos and wrote articles from hotspots in eastern and southern Ukraine, including temporarily occupied Enerhodar, and prepared reports on fighting in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts. She had also planned to travel to Mariupol while it was under Russian siege in 2022.
Roshchyna was first detained by Russian forces in March 2022 in temporarily occupied Berdiansk. She was held for 10 days and later released. Refusing to be silenced, she continued reporting.
In August 2023, she disappeared during another trip to Russian-occupied territories. She had left Ukraine for Poland on 27 July 2023, intending to reach occupied areas via Russia, and lost contact after 3 August.
Her body was returned to Ukraine during a prisoner exchange on 14 February 2025, mislabeled as an “unidentified male.” Forensic experts later identified it as Roshchyna’s, with a DNA test confirming a 99% match.
A forensic exam conducted by the Main Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on 9 July 2025 confirmed a neck injury, bone fractures, hemorrhages in the soft tissues of the temporal region, right shoulder, and lower legs, and abrasions of the left foot. All these traumas obviously couldn't have been self-inflicted.
A symbol of courage and sacrifice
The International Press Institute (IPI) and International Media Support (IMS) recognized Roshchyna for her immense personal sacrifice in pursuit of truth. Her story revealed the brutal treatment endured by Ukrainian journalists in Russian captivity.
Honoring global defenders of press freedom
The IPI-IMS World Press Freedom Hero award is given annually to journalists who show extraordinary commitment to free expression. The 2025 edition, marking IPI’s 75th anniversary, honors seven journalists worldwide—including Roshchyna and Mariam Abu Dagga, both killed while reporting from war zones.
Two other recipients remain imprisoned. The awards highlight a growing global crisis as authoritarian regimes suppress independent journalism with impunity.
A call to defend media freedom
Roshchyna’s posthumous recognition serves as a stark reminder that truth-telling can be deadly under tyranny. It renews the call to protect journalists working in war zones and to ensure accountability for crimes against the press.
Her legacy symbolizes the resilience of Ukrainian journalism amid Russia’s attempts to silence it.
Roshchyna’s background
Before her capture, Victoria Roshchyna worked for Hromadske and contributed to Ukrainska Pravda and Radio Svoboda. In 2022, she received the International Women’s Media Foundation’s “For Courage in Journalism” award. On 4 September 2025, she was posthumously honored with the Oxi Courage Award.
She was also posthumously awarded Ukraine’s Order of Freedom by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Oxi Courage Award in Washington.
Related:
- Tortured Ukrainian reporter Victoria Roshchyna honored with highest state award after death in Russian captivity
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