US, Sep. 4 — Viktoria Roshchyna, a journalist killed in Russian captivity, has been posthumously awarded the Oxi Courage Award in Washington, said Oksana Markarova, ex-Ambassador of Ukraine in the USA. 

“Despite the life-threatening risks, Viktoria reported on war crimes and violations of humanitarian law in the occupied territories,” noted Markarova.

The Washington Oxi Day Foundation presents the award annually for acts of courage, bravery, and determination. Founded in 2011, the foundation takes its name from the Greek word “Oxi” (“No”) — the defiant response given by the Greek people and government to Nazi Germany’s demand to surrender in 1940.

On Oct. 10, 2024, Petro Yatsenko, head of the press service at the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, confirmed Roshchyna’s death in Russian captivity after she went missing in 2023, following her trip to Russian-occupied territories. 

On Mar. 3, 2025, journalists from Slidstvo.Info revealed in their investigation that the Russians tortured Roshchyna while in captivity.

Previously, Russian forces abducted her at the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Mar. 15, 2022, in the occupied city of Berdiansk, located in the Zaporizhzhia region. She was released a week later. 

Roshchyna has worked for several Ukrainian media and, in 2022, received the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Award.

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