Ukrainian journalist Viktoriya Roshchyna went missing in occupied territory

This was reported by the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) on 4 October.

We are extremely concerned about her safety and call on the international community to pay attention to this situation," the organisation said in a statement.

According to IWMF, Roshchina disappeared on 3 August 2023 in the Russian-occupied territory from which she was reporting. Nothing has been heard of her since then.

Viktoria Roshchina has been on the Russian frontline in Ukraine since the full-scale war began in February 2022, publishing stories in independent media outlets such as Ukrainska Pravda, Gromadske and Radio Free Europe. Throughout her nearly decade-long journalistic career, she has covered complex and often dangerous topics such as crime, courts and human rights. Earlier in March 2022, Roshchina was captured by Russian forces and held in Berdyansk for 10 days.

Russia's systematic censorship of free speech cannot go unnoticed or unchecked. Free, independent journalism is necessary to inform the world community about the realities of Russia's war against Ukraine. - elisa Lis Muñoz, Executive Director of the IWMF, comments on the situation.

We ask our colleagues in the field of human rights and press freedom to join our demand for information on Roschina's whereabouts and to support journalists who continue to tell the truth in the face of the Russian invasion," the IWMF appeal emphasises.

At the end of July, Viktoriya Roshchyna reported from Lysychansk, describing the terrible realities of a town living on the front line.

People bury relatives and neighbours in yards and vegetable gardens because the ritual services are not working. They bring a handful of earth to the priest, he buries the earth, and they then sprinkle the grave with this earth," Victoria reported.