Overview

• Several hundred people, including fellow journalists and diplomats, attended a service at St Michael’s Cathedral followed by a procession to Independence Square to honour Roshchyna’s courage.
• Ukrainian authorities have formally charged Aleksandr Shtoda, the former head of Taganrog detention centre No. 2, accusing him of orchestrating systematic torture.
• In February, Russia handed over a body mislabeled as an “unidentified male” that forensic experts later confirmed as Roshchyna through DNA testing.
• Examinations revealed multiple signs of abuse—such as abrasions, a broken rib and missing organs—and prosecutors have classified her death as a war crime.
• Ukraine and Russia’s prisoner exchanges have traditionally excluded civilian detainees, prompting calls to include detained journalists in future swaps.