Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna died in Russian captivity, Ukrainian authorities confirmed Thursday. She was 27 years old.

Roshchyna was captured by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents while reporting from Russian-occupied territory in August 2023.

According to Petro Yatsenko, head of Ukraine’s coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war, the circumstances of Rostchyna’s death are still unclear. Earlier, Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn reported that Russian authorities informed the journalist’s family that she had died while being transferred between prisons, but he later deleted the post.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne that Roshchyna was on the list for an upcoming prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. Yatsenko later confirmed this to Hromadske, adding: “The fact that she was transferred from Taganrog to Moscow was a stage of her preparation for release. »

Roshchyna’s arrest last year was the second time she had been captured by Russian forces. In March 2022, FSB agents arrested her in Russian-occupied territory and held her in detention for 10 days. While in detention, the agency forced Roshchyna to record a video saying that she had no complaints about her conditions of detention and that Russian forces had “saved her life.” Upon her second arrest, nine months passed before Russian authorities confirmed to Roshchyna’s family that she was in their custody.

Roshchyna worked as a freelance journalist for various media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, Radio Svoboda and Hromadske, where she was on staff. She received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation in 2022.