Ukraine buries reporter who died in Russian captivity, urges release of others

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KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity last year, was buried in Kyiv on Friday, while her colleagues called for international pressure to secure the release of other Ukrainian reporters held by Moscow.

Several hundred people gathered in the centre of Kyiv for a solemn ceremony to pay tribute to Roshchyna, 27, whose first-hand reporting provided a rare glimpse into life under occupation in the early months of Russia’s invasion.

“It is very sad… it is really about losing a professional who was braver than any of us,” Nataliya Gumenyuk, a journalist, told Reuters. “We pay tribute while there are still other Ukrainian reporters behind bars, and with what has happened to her, it is our duty not to stop.”

Roshchyna went missing in August 2023 during a reporting trip to Russia-held eastern Ukraine. She died after a year in detention.

The body of the journalist was discovered among bodies that Russia handed over to Ukraine earlier this year. Ukrainian forensic experts were unable to determine the cause of death, but found signs of injuries and possible torture, Ukrainian prosecutors have said.

Moscow did not comment on Friday, but has previously denied allegations of torture.

Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists said that it had verified a list of at least 30 Ukrainian reporters who were in detention in Russia.

Several of Roshchyna’s colleagues who attended the funeral said that more political and international pressure on Moscow was required to help release the reporters.

Ukraine and Russia regularly exchange prisoners of war, and several large swaps took place after Kyiv and Moscow met for three rounds of talks in the Turkish capital Istanbul. The exchanges typically include servicemen from both sides but not civilians.

(Reporting by Sergiy Karazy, writing by Olena Harmash; Editing by Sharon Singleton)