THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
A Victoria’s List is being created in Ukraine. It should include those who were involved in the detention and torture of Ukrainians during the russian invasion – jailers, executioners… The name Victoria’s List is associated with the name of media worker Victoria Roshchina, who was in russian custody and, unfortunately, did not return home alive. The russians returned her body with the U/M mark – “Unknown Man”. But the study of the mutilated body and DNA analysis made it possible to find out who the enemy was trying to hide behind the U/M mark. The formation of the Victoria’s List was announced by the head of the parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, during the presentation of the documentary ‘Free the Word’, which was presented by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). It is symbolic that the event took place on the eve of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. The film is dedicated to Ukrainian journalists who were captured by russia, were unjustly convicted on fabricated charges, as well as those who managed to escape from the enemy’s shadows. The event brought together representatives of the NUJU, media workers, politicians, diplomats, human rights activists, and a number of heroes took part in it, including film personalities. The film is scheduled to be shown in Ukrainian and English so that as many viewers as possible can watch it. After all, it is about things that do not fit into the boundaries of not only international law, but also elementary human understanding. Although… As Yaroslav Yurchyshyn noted, for russians, people are just statistics. For Ukraine, everyone is important, and our country is doing everything to free its compatriots from russian captivity.
Becoming the voice of civilian prisoners
The film reminds us that russian captivity can take away freedom, but it is not able to make the Ukrainian word silent. NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko drew attention to the key role of media workers in documenting russian crimes.
“The topic of solidarity with our colleagues who are being held captive by russia is a basic priority for us. We remember the contribution of both those colleagues who gave their lives and those who were killed by russia. We stand in solidarity with the prisoners; we stand in solidarity with every journalist who refuses to remain silent. In fact, the film ‘Free the Word’ is an effort by the team of the NUJU, aimed at giving a voice to both the families of prisoners, civilian journalists, and directly to those who, unfortunately, are forced to remain silent due to the current russian captivity and war. We understand that for russia, for Putin, propaganda is a basic component of the invasion, as important for russia as drones, planes, tanks, soldiers… And it is independent journalists who are enemies for Putin and for russia, because it is independent journalists who destroy all those crazy lies, propaganda, and at the same time document russia’s war crimes,” noted Sergiy Tomilenko.
The voice of the film was Olena Tsyhipa, the wife of the writer and journalist from Nova Kakhovka Serhii Tsyhipa, who was captured and unjustly convicted by russia. Olena knows from her own difficult experience what it is like to wait and to hope, to fight for the release of her husband and other prisoners, to do everything possible, even the impossible, so that both in Ukraine and in the world they know that the capture of civilian hostages by the russians is not an isolated case, but a systemic phenomenon.
Coordinator of the project titled Promoting the Rights of Civilian Prisoners of War and Their Families Through the Communication of Personal Stories and Legal Analysis of Problems,” Valeriya Parkhomenkoб emphasized the importance of documenting war crimes against journalists and civilians, and announced the legal analysis of the situation with the protection of the rights of civilian prisoners of war and their families conducted by еру NUJU.
This analysis was prepared by the NUJU team: Danil Serbin (advisor to the NUJU President on legal issues), Lina Kushch (First Secretary of the NUJU), and Valeriya Parkhomenko. The research was implemented within the framework of the aforementioned project with the support of ICMP.
According to the study, since the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been illegally detained or abducted.
In June and July 2025, the NUJU conducted a survey among 94 families of civilian prisoners. The results showed:
- 75% of families do not know where their relatives are;
- 60% do not receive official information about the situation at all;
- 45% do not feel supported by the state;
- The Ukrainian side confirmed 89% of abduction cases, but only 33% by the russian side.
Dmytro Khyliuk: “I will not remain silent!”
Currently, 28 civilian journalists are in captivity. Vladyslav Yesypenko, Liudmila Huseyinova, Serhii Tsyhipa, Yana Suvorova, and Anastasiya Hlukhovska are just a few names, a few destinies reflected in the film, a few stories of indomitability… Unfortunately, the story of Victoria Roshchina will no longer have a happy ending. And in order not to leave the executioners unpunished, the Victoria’s List is being formed now.
And here is the story of the captivity of another film hero, Dmytro Khyliuk, which has now come to an end. And Dmytro, who managed to escape from russian captivity, himself spoke about this during the presentation of the film, noting that his case is rather an exception to the general situation. This was the first public speech of his colleague to the audience after his release.
“At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, when the russians saw that they would not be able to capture Kyiv in 3 days, they began to gather civilian hostages, and they gathered a lot of people. I was kidnapped from my own house, from my own yard, and taken to russia. This is typical. And the unusualness of my story is that they released me, despite my concealment of my journalistic identity. I think they realized that when I returned sooner or later, I would not be silent, and therefore, I was quite surprised that they released me. What is this connected with? First of all, with the pressure of the international community, with the pressure of fellow journalists from Ukraine and international journalistic organizations, on russia. And, perhaps, it was this pressure that contributed to my release. And another factor is probably russian negligence, let’s say, ignorance of all levels of the prison administration. Because they could not help but realize that it was dangerous for them to release me, because I would not remain silent,” noted Dmytro Khyliuk.
Civilian prisoners have less chance of being exchanged
Under international law, civilian prisoners, unlike military ones, are not subject to exchange – they can only be returned without additional conditions. Thus, they have a lower chance of being exchanged, exist in a legal vacuum, and often remain without legal and psychological support. This was also said by family members of civilian prisoners who participated in the study.
“They were deprived not only of their freedom, but also of their basic rights, communication with their families and access to lawyers,” the London-based international foundation Justice for Journalists quotes Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the NUJU and member of the steering committee of the European Federation of Journalists, in a major article on the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
“We are particularly concerned about our colleagues who were taken prisoner after a full-scale invasion. Russia is violating international humanitarian law, and the world must step up efforts to free them,” emphasizes Sergiy Tomilenko. The Justice for Journalists Foundation calls for the release of all journalists imprisoned for their professional activities and for the strengthening of the protection of freedom of speech.
Therefore, among the key recommendations of the study are the creation of a single coordination center for collecting information and supporting families, increasing international pressure on russia, and targeted assistance to prisoners without family resources.
“It is very important to contact international organizations, to tell them, because even in Ukraine, not everyone correctly understands the context of the war, and even more so abroad. Moreover, it must be done correctly, so that it communicates in a way that supports, rather than being indifferent, because the prisoners must be returned home.
The Second Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy, Karl Gullik Nakken, stated that Norway will continue to support Ukraine in various areas, including freedom of speech, which is a fundamental value of democracy.
“We support freedom of speech in Ukraine not just because it is right, but because it is important for democracy in Ukraine. And we want Ukraine to become part of that big family to which Norway belongs. I want to thank the journalists who are here today for the work that you do. Because what you have done, are doing, and will do is a contribution not only to the survival of Ukraine, but also to the future of the whole world,” said Karl Gullik Nakken.
“First of all, I want to thank the National Singer of Journalists of Ukraine. You have no idea what a difficult but incredibly important job you are doing. I thank you for returning the names of the missing prisoners, for restoring their dignity, and for ensuring that their voices are heard through you. This is incredibly important,” emphasized the representative of the Interdepartmental Commission for the Safety of Journalists, Dariya Kyryliuk.
It is important to use a balanced approach
The Head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Bohdan Okhrymenko, noting that the film “Free the Word” is not just a documentary, it is evidence of the ability, strength, and endurance of those who are in captivity or have returned from captivity, drew attention to the fact that documenting such stories is very important in the international arena.
“Such materials help our state return our citizens, including journalists, who suffered primarily for freedom of speech. Yes, according to the Geneva Convention, civilians should not be exchanged; they should be returned to their country of origin. But at the same time, many journalists are in russian prisons. No charges have been brought against them yet, and no criminal proceedings have been opened. Still, they continue to be held in remand prison, in prisons. And their fate is quite unclear. The Coordination Headquarters monitors the information space and receives testimonies from those released from captivity, including Mr. Dmytro Khyliuk, who has also joined this work. We receive information about the fate of those about whom we still know nothing, and we find materials of open criminal proceedings on official websites of the russian federation. We see that some civilian journalists are also being convicted, and we monitor their movements. We try to determine their location and condition, which helps in the negotiation process. But if in the negotiation process regarding the military we are dealing with the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation, with the FSB, then there is still no official or institution in the russian federation that would be responsible for the fate of civilians, that is, there is no entity with which we could conduct a dialogue on the return of civilians.”
But even in such circumstances, as Bohdan Okhrymenko said, the Coordination Headquarters is doing everything to find levers of influence on the russian side for the return of our citizens, including civilians, and among them – journalists.
“There are certain developments. In particular, the return of Maksym Butkevych, who, by the way, recently received the famous Vaclav Havel Prize, and a number of other journalists who returned outside the exchanges. This is also a specific task being carried out by the Main Intelligence Directorate, in collaboration with the Security Service of Ukraine and other relevant departments. We cannot disclose directly what measures and mechanisms we are currently applying, but I assure you, this work has not stopped for a moment. This is the filigree work of all the entities involved in this situation. I would like to thank the entire National Union of Journalists of Ukraine for their accurate understanding of the situation and for providing correct coverage of the information.
Advisor to the Chairman of NUJU on legal issues, Danil Serbin, drew attention to the fact that an analysis of the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with international legal acts had been conducted, which revealed the following. International legislation on the inadmissibility of war crimes, illegal detentions, etc., was formed after the end of the First and Second World Wars. But today, russia does not comply with international law, repeating all the crimes that were practiced during previous international wars.
“Russia still uses the slogan “We can repeat it”, while Ukraine and other civilized countries use the slogan “Never again”. As for media people, russians can create and spread fakes, saying that they are not journalists, but terrorists, militants, and so on, and already open criminal proceedings, conduct investigations, and hold in places of deprivation of freedom. In the film, we see that all the videos that are shot in the occupied territories, remand prison, or other places of deprivation of freedom, all the letters that come in russian, force people to allegedly confess to what they did not do, do not respect human rights. In russian prisons, the radio is constantly playing, for example, broadcasting propaganda that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are retreating, that new territories will soon be captured… They say, this is so that the prisoners who return know what to prepare for. Therefore, to support our compatriots in captivity, we must continue our efforts and do everything possible to disseminate accurate information, particularly to an international audience. It is also important to use a balanced approach, speak carefully, speak with the aim of helping, but not to overdo it, so as not to harm those who are in captivity,” noted Danil Serbin.
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn also drew attention to the fact that russia does not recognize the existence of civilian hostages. The head of the parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Speech noted that an important task is to return all our prisoners, and to do this, we must talk about them, make them visible, because every person is of the highest value, as stipulated in the Constitution of Ukraine.
“We have a very good resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but now we need to understand how we will implement it, what mechanisms we will use to put pressure, this time probably on the West, in order to help strengthen responsibility, and sanction all those who were involved in detention and torture. That is why we agree, and the Victoria List is being created, the idea of which is to establish a list of prison inmates who are involved in torture. But we understand how sensitive this is. That is why this is a very complex and troublesome project. Now journalists are a priority target for the russians, and we see this in the reports. In fact, not a week goes by without representatives of the media coming under fire. The russians have actively changed their tactics, and now they are even more actively working on intimidation, on ensuring that Ukrainian and international journalists do not go to the front, do not show the situation as it really is. Therefore, we must fight to keep our people home, and until this entire list of prisoners becomes a list of those released, our work will not be completed.”
This project was made possible by the financial support of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) through NORAD, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, for the ICMP Program in Ukraine. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors. They should not be attributed to the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), its donors, or participating States.
Photo by Yevhen Zinchenko
NUJU Information Service
Discussion about this post