Ukrainian Journalist Killed in Captivity Receives International Recognition
Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity, was posthumously awarded the American Oxi Courage Award.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Life Pravda, citing former Ukrainian Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, on Facebook.
Every year, the Oxi Courage Award is presented to individuals and organizations that have shown courage and bravery. In 2025, the award was posthumously presented to Victoria Roshchyna, a journalist, war correspondent, and human rights activist who covered life in the occupied territories and crimes committed by the Russian Federation against civilians.
“Despite the risk of mortal danger, Victoria covered war crimes and violations of humanitarian law in the occupied territories,” Markarova wrote.
Victoria was captured by the Russians in August 2023 while investigating the abductions and torture of civilians in Energodar. Despite the mortal danger, she continued to cover war crimes and violations of humanitarian law.
In May 2024, Russia officially confirmed her detention for the first time by sending a letter to the journalist's father. On October 10 of the same year, it became known that Victoria had died in Russian custody, although she was supposed to be returned as part of an exchange. The Prosecutor General's Office reclassified the criminal proceedings into her disappearance as a “war crime combined with intentional murder.”
The journalist's body was only repatriated in February 2025. During the examination, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found, including abrasions, hemorrhages, a broken rib, and signs of electric shock.
Importantly, the Russians handed over the body without some of the internal organs, including the brain, eyeballs, and part of the trachea, which could have been an attempt to conceal the true cause of death. On August 8, a farewell ceremony for Victoria was held in Kyiv.
In addition to the Oxi Courage Award, Victoria Roshchyna was posthumously awarded the Czech Homo Homini Prize in March 2025 and the Order of Freedom from President Zelenskyy in August of the same year for her civic courage, patriotism, and selfless defense of human rights and freedoms.
The Gaze informed earlier that Russian propaganda is exploiting the assassination of Andriy Parubiy, former Speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament and a prominent political figure, to spread disinformation, deepen divisions, and destabilize Ukrainian society.