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full screen Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, here with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, expresses great sadness at the news that a journalist died in Russian captivity. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/TT
Ukraine begins an investigation into suspected war crimes following reports that a Ukrainian journalist died in Russian captivity.
Journalist Victoria Roshchyna disappeared last August during a reporting trip in the parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian invasion forces. It was only in April of this year that her father received a notification from the Moscow Ministry of Defense that she was being detained. Details of the circumstances surrounding the arrest have not been made public, nor where she was held.
On Thursday, a representative of Ukraine’s Organization for Prisoner of War Exchanges confirmed that Roshchyna – who would have turned 28 in October – had died. In connection with the announcement, Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office announced that an investigation was being opened into “war crimes and premeditated murder”.
The international organization Reporters Without Borders said it was “shocked” by the announcement, the EU was condemning and called it “abhorrent”.
“It is a heavy blow to the many journalists who knew her,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding that there are many more victims whose fates are unknown.