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Mourners Pay Respect For 27-year-old Ukrainian Journalist Who Died In Russian Captivity

Published

4 months ago

August 8, 2025

A woman mourns at the coffin of Victoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died while in captivity in Russia, during her funeral ceremony on Independence Square in Kyiv on August 8, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Victoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist, died at the age of 27 on September 19, 2024 while in captivity in Russia, and was subjected to 'systematic torture and 'deprived of medical care', according to the Ukrainian prosecutor's office. She was captured while reporting on the occupied Ukrainian part of the southern region of Zaporizhzhia. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP)

Dozens of mourners packed into a cathedral in central Kyiv on Friday to pay their respects to independent journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity last year aged 27.

Her body, which Russia returned in February, remained in a closed coffin throughout the service.

Roshchyna, who worked freelance for several Ukrainian news outlets, disappeared in August 2023 on a reporting trip to the Moscow-held part of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region.

She died in Russian detention just over one year later, her body showing “numerous signs of torture” including abrasions and a broken rib, according to Kyiv.

The circumstances of her arrest were never made public, and Russia has not explained her death.

The priest at the funeral service said she had endured “torments”.

“The most important thing in journalism is to report the truth. And they don’t like the truth,” he said, referring to Russia.

Many in the crowd were fellow reporters, some of whom wept when the cameras were turned off.

A joint investigation by Reporters Without Borders and Ukrainian investigative news outlet Slidstva reported that she was arrested in Energodar in southern Ukraine, and later held for several weeks in the Russian-held city of Melitopol.

From there, she was transferred to a jail in the Russian port city of Taganrog. Upon arrival, she had scars and “knife wounds” on her body, the investigation found, citing a cellmate.

During her time in Taganrog, she stopped eating and was placed in solitary confinement, according to the investigation.

Thousands of Ukrainians opposed to Moscow’s rule have been detained in occupied territories since Russia’s invasion in 2022, many of whom face torture at the hands of security forces, according to rights groups.

Ukraine said it would press criminal charges against the governor of the prison in Taganrog where she was held, alleging she was subjected to “systemic torture, beatings, humiliation, threats, severe restrictions on access to medical care, drinking water and food”.

It has described her death as “premeditated murder” and accused Russia of a war crime.

A UN expert panel last year demanded that the Russian government provide answers over her death.

Russia does not comment on the treatment of individual prisoners but says it is committed to investigating torture and abuse in its penal system.

During the funeral service, her father Volodymyr, fixed his eyes on the coffin while her sister looked on. They held hands throughout the ceremony.

Angelina Karyakina, editor-in-chief at Ukrainian news outlet Hromadske for whom Roshchyna worked, described her as a tireless and ambitious journalist who preferred to work alone.

“She didn’t like to depend on other people,” she told AFP.

“She would take the camera herself, often shoot photos and videos on her own, and was a one-woman band.”

Roshchyna worked for various independent news outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, and had collaborated with the Ukrainian service of US-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe.

In 2022, she was awarded the Courage in Journalism award by the International Women’s Media Foundation for her reporting from eastern Ukraine.

After the church service, the mourners moved to Kyiv’s main square, where Radio Liberty editor Taras Ilkiv paid tribute to her “historic work” in the occupied territories, his voice breaking.

“I am convinced that Viktoria believed like no one else that these are our people, in Mariupol, in Berdyansk, in Kherson,” he said, referring to cities that Russia had captured at various points in the war.

“Almost no one is capable of such work,” he said.

Related Topics:Russia Ukraine Ukrainian Journalist

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UK Rejects Nigeria’s Request To Transfer Ekweremadu

Published

1 day ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

The United Kingdom has rejected a request from the Nigerian government to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to Nigeria to complete his prison sentence.

Ekweremadu is serving time in a UK facility after he was found guilty in 2023 of plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man.

He received a jail term of nine years and eight months following the conviction, which stemmed from a high-profile organ-trafficking case that drew international attention.

With the latest decision, Ekweremadu will remain in the UK to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

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Trump Blasts Ukraine For ‘Zero Gratitude’ Amid Talks To Halt War

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Ukraine again of lacking “gratitude” for Washington’s support against Russia’s invasion, as top US and Ukrainian representatives met in Geneva for talks on a proposal to halt the war.

“UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, also blasting European countries for not doing enough to stop the war, but offering no direct condemnation of Moscow.

His comments came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was meeting with top Ukrainian officials in a wintery Geneva Sunday to discuss the US president’s controversial 28-point plan for ending the nearly four-year conflict.

The Ukrainian delegation, headed by Andriy Yermak, also met with high-level officials from Britain, France and Germany in the Swiss city, as European countries scramble to have a seat at the table in the discussions.

Trump had given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan, but Kyiv wants changes to a draft that accepts a range of Russia’s hardline demands, including requiring the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday said he was “sceptical” a deal could be reached by that deadline.

The US president told reporters Saturday the proposal was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting “one way or the other”, raising hopes that it would be possible to strengthen Kyiv’s position.

– ‘Ukrainian perspectives’ included –

A US official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that a number of meetings were held throughout the day Sunday, with the US and Ukrainian delegation holding “detailed discussions about the peace agreement”.

“It was productive and even conclusive in some areas,” the official said, adding that a second round of talks underway at the US mission in Geneva aimed at “ironing out the details of the agreement”.

By late Sunday afternoon, Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the latest version of the US draft plan, which AFP has not seen, “already reflects most of Ukraine’s key priorities”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said on social media that the “American proposals may include a number of elements based on Ukrainian perspectives and critical for Ukrainian national interests”, hailing that “diplomacy has been reinvigorated”.

– Recognise European ‘centrality’ –

The US plan was drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies, who were striving Sunday to make their voices heard and boost Kyiv’s position.

“Ukraine must have the freedom and sovereign right to choose its own destiny. They have chosen a European destiny,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, stressing that the “centrality” of the European Union’s role must be “fully reflected” in any peace plan.
Ukraine’s European allies gathered at the G20 summit in South Africa stressed that the US plan requires “additional work”.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb told AFP that he and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni had called Trump early Sunday to discuss his Ukraine proposal.

“Of course, we discussed the situation, the 28-point plan, and some of the developments here in Johannesburg related to the peace plan,” he said, declining to reveal the content of the discussions.

French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference at the G20 that the plan contained points that had to be more broadly discussed as they concerned European allies, such as Ukraine’s NATO ties and Russian frozen assets held in the EU.

He said the 30 countries in the “coalition of the willing” supporting Kyiv will hold a video call on Tuesday following the Geneva talks.
European Union countries were also planning to meet to discuss the Ukraine situation on the sidelines of a meeting with African leaders in Angola on Monday.

– ‘Wish list’ –

Questions were meanwhile being raised over how much input Moscow may have had in drafting the original proposal, which was welcomed by the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.
Ahead of Sunday’s talks, Washington insisted the Trump proposal was official US policy, denying claims by a group of US senators that Rubio told them the document was a Russian “wish list”.

Rubio himself insisted on social media late Saturday that “the peace proposal was authored by the US”.

“It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
That did not calm all concerns.

“Together with the leaders of Europe, Canada and Japan, we have declared our readiness to work on the 28-point plan despite some reservations,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X Sunday.

“However, before we start our work, it would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created.”

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Pope Leo XIV Demands Immediate Release Of 315 Abducted Niger Students, Teachers

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2025

Editor

Pope Leo XIV has appealed for the immediate release of 315 people abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State.

Speaking on Sunday, the Pontiff expressed deep distress over the mass kidnapping, which included students, teachers, priests, and other members of the Catholic community.

“I received with profound sorrow the news of the abduction of priests, faithful, and schoolchildren. I make a heartfelt plea for the swift and unconditional release of all those being held,” Pope Leo XIV said.

The attack occurred in the early hours of Friday when armed men reportedly invaded the private Catholic school in a well-coordinated operation.

According to local sources, the assailants arrived in large numbers, riding on more than 60 motorcycles and supported by a van, before forcing their way into the premises.

During the assault, the school’s gatekeeper was shot and left critically injured.

A resident of Agwarra confirmed the incident, noting that the exact number of abducted students has yet to be verified.

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“It happened between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.. The number of students taken is still unclear,” the source said.

Another community source added that several teachers were also seized during the raid, raising further concerns about the scale of the attack and the safety of the victims.