Ukraine's Presidential Office Cannot Say When Hero of Ukraine Award for Journalist Roshchyna Will Be Reviewed

Ukraine's Presidential Office has stated it has no information on when an expert group under the State Awards and Heraldry Commission will review the nomination to award journalist Viktoria Roshchyna the Hero of Ukraine title posthumously. The response was provided by Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Olena Kovalska in reply to a formal inquiry. The Office noted that the nomination was submitted by the Kyiv City Mayor's Office. Viktoria Roshchyna was a Ukrainian journalist who was held in Russian captivity and died there on October 10, 2024. Investigators later established she had been subjected to severe torture, including stab wounds, electric shocks, and systematic concealment from prison inspections. In May 2025, Ukraine's parliament formally appealed to President Zelensky to grant Roshchyna the Hero of Ukraine award posthumously. The Kyiv city administration made a separate submission in July 2026. Her case became a symbol of Russia's systematic abuse of Ukrainian journalists and prisoners held in Russian-controlled detention facilities.