““Systematic crimes against journalists and media committed by Russia pose a serious threat to freedom of speech and information security, undermine democratic values and human rights””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“The war took the lives of 132 Ukrainian artists and 93 media workers. These data are not only about the scale of losses, but also remind about the tragic pages of our history. Just as in the 20s and early 30s of the 20th century, the Stalinist regime destroyed a generation of Ukrainian artists, so today Russia is purposefully destroying the cultural elite of Ukraine,” the message reads.
The ministry noted that the literary and artistic generation known as the “Shooted Renaissance” gave the world masterpieces of literature, painting, music and theater: “These artists were the pride of our nation. Today, we are again losing not just talented Ukrainians, but a part of our soul, because each of our artists is a unique individual who enriched Ukrainian culture.”
The ICRC emphasizes that “systematic crimes against journalists and media committed by Russia pose a serious threat to freedom of speech and information security, undermine democratic values and human rights.”
“Journalists currently working in Ukraine create important news, investigations and reports in conditions of increased risk. They record the events of the war in order to provide Ukraine and the world with reliable information about what is happening. Media workers 24/7 collect irrefutable evidence of the crimes of the occupiers and highlight the strength, feat and courage of our defenders,” the message states.
The ICSK added that “during the war, not only Ukrainian, but also seven foreign media persons, who told the world about the events in Ukraine, died.”
On October 10, Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War in Ukraine, reported that Ukrainian journalist Viktoriya Roshchyna, who went missing during a trip to the occupied territories and was held in Russian territory, died in Russian captivity.
The Russians first detained Roschyna in Berdyansk in March 2022, when she was writing reports for the media (including Radio Liberty) about life in the temporarily occupied territories. Then the journalist was released, forced to record a video message that she had no complaints against the Russian military. Roshchyna returned to the territory controlled by Ukraine, but in July 2023 again went to the territories occupied by Moscow.
Viktoriya Roschyna stopped contacting her relatives on August 3, 2023. According to her father, Roschyna left Ukraine for Poland on July 27 and was supposed to reach the occupied territories in the east of Ukraine (via Russia) in three days. Then Volodymyr Roschyn said that the Ukrainian Security Service confirmed to the family that Victoria had been captured by Russian forces.
Victoria Roshchyna was the author of a series of reports for Radio Liberty, she collaborated with Radio Liberty in 2022 as a freelancer. She also cooperated with “Ukrainian Pravda”, hromadske, “Ukrainian Radio”, “UA:Pershiy” and “Censor.net”.