On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi called on the international community to respond to the findings of the Forbidden Stories investigation into the murder of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna while in Russian captivity.
According to Ukrinform, Tykhyi posted his statement on the social network X.
“We urge the international community to respond to the findings of this investigation, which reveal systemic war crimes, human rights violations, abduction, torture, and murder in the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia,” Tykhyi wrote.
He appealed to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, UNESCO, the OSCE and its Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Council of Europe, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, as well as international human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Tykhyi expressed gratitude to Forbidden Stories and 45 journalists from 13 Ukrainian and international media outlets for their “outstanding and shocking investigation.” He emphasized that Viktoriia Roshchyna’s courage, commitment to journalism, and genuine concern for human life were “extraordinary”.
“This collaborative journalistic work emphasizes her heroism and the barbarism of her murder by the Russians, while also expanding her efforts to expose the horrific fate of thousands of civilian hostages held by Russia,” he wrote.
The Spokesperson stressed that the issue of civilian hostages abducted and held by Russia requires “increased international attention and immediate and strong response.”
“What we are seeing right now is most likely the largest state-led civilian abduction operation in recent memory. This has to be condemned and prosecuted. Russian criminals responsible for these horrific atrocities must be held accountable,” Tykhyi added.
As reported by Ukrinform, the body of the Ukrainian journalist, who died in Russian captivity, was returned with several internal organs missing and was labeled in documents as an “unidentified male.” These details emerged from the Project Viktoriia investigation published by Ukrainska Pravda in collaboration with Forbidden Stories.
Viktoriia Roshchyna went missing in August 2023 while traveling to Russian-occupied territories. According to human rights advocates, she was held in two of the harshest prisons in Russia.
Source: Investigation into Roshchyna’s murder: Ukraine’s MFA urges global response to Russia’s crimes
