27-Year-Old Ukrainian Journalist is Latest Victim of Russian Bestiality

She was merely doing her job, following leads and gathering information for important stories that she was writing concerning Russia’s invasion of her homeland Ukraine. Viktoriya Roshchyna was proud of her work. She was known for being first on the scene of a news story regardless of where it was taking place. Like many of her colleagues around the world, Viktoriya believed that her articles would make a difference, reveal the truth and improve the lives of her people.

Sadly, Russia hated her work, and it cut short Viktoriya’s career and life at the age of 27. The crime and her return home caught the attention of global news outlets.

Roshchyna went missing on August 3, 2023, in Russian-occupied territories. Moscow confirmed her detention in May 2024, after previously holding her for 10 days in March 2022. Her death was reported on October 10, 2024, via a letter from Russian officials to her father, later confirmed by Ukrainian authorities. Her sad journey from seizure by Russians to her recent return home was marked by abuse, brutality and torture. Evidence of bestiality was visible everywhere on her emaciated body. Perhaps the most horrific sign of the inhuman brutality committed by Russians was that organs were removed from her body to complicate gathering forensic evidence.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights stated she was held in Berdyansk’s Penal Colony No. 77 and Taganrog’s Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2, known as one of Russia’s harshest facilities for Ukrainians.

Roshchyna has worked for Hromadske, Ukrainska Pravda, Radio Free Europe, and others, earning the International Women’s Media Foundation’s 2022 Courage in Journalism Award.

Journalist affiliated with the Hromadske Ukrainian publication, Viktoriya Roshchyna, who prepared materials on military actions in the east and south of Ukraine in 2022, was kidnapped by Russian occupiers in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region. She died a horrible death in Russian captivity, according to a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War in Ukraine Petro Yatsenko said.

“Indeed, we conducted an internal investigation and, unfortunately, this information has been confirmed. Unfortunately, the information about Victoria’s death has been confirmed,” Yatsenko said on the air of the national telethon on Thursday evening.

In 2023, she again traveled to the Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine via third countries to prepare a report and disappeared on August 3. In May 2024, Russia admitted for the first time that it had detained Viktoriya.

As reported with reference to the investigation of the international organization Forbidden Stories, Russia finally returned her body without some internal organs, presumably to hide the cause of her death.

The investigative team confirmed that the body was brought to the territory of Ukraine already bearing signs that an autopsy was performed in Russia. According to law enforcement agencies, Viktoria was missing parts of the brain, eyeballs and larynx.

An expert pathologist believes that the absence of these organs was intended to hide the true cause of the young journalist’s death: strangulation or suffocation. These actions by Moscow surely qualify as a war crime, all associated with the investigation have confirmed.

According Ukrainian and other sources that managed to rebuild the chain of events leading to her murder, representatives of the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) and the Russian Armed Forces abducted Viktoriya in the city of Berdiansk, where she was preparing materials on military operations in the east and south of Ukraine, law enforcement officers have begun criminal proceedings, the Prosecutor General’s Office reports.

“According to the investigation, on March 15, 2022, representatives of the FSB and the armed forces of the aggressor country abducted a Hromadske journalist in the city of Berdiansk, who was preparing materials on military operations in the east and south of Ukraine. Currently, her whereabouts are unknown,” according to the statement on Facebook.

“Our journalist Viktoriya Roshchyna is probably being held captive by the Russian occupiers. She filmed videos and wrote articles from hot spots all the days of the Russo-Ukraine war. On March 16, we learned that Victoria was detained by the Russian FSB. At present, nothing is known about her whereabouts,’ the media said on Twitter.

A joint investigation by Reporters Without Borders and Ukrainian investigative news outlet Slidstvo found that she was arrested in Energodar in southern Ukraine, and later held for several weeks in the Russian-held city of Melitopol.

From there, she was transferred to a jail in the Russian port city of Taganrog. The investigation said she stopped eating in prison and had "knife wounds" on her body, according to her cellmate.

More than 40 journalists from 13 international media outlets have participated in the investigation, conducting over 50 interviews with former prisoners, ex-prison guards, and human rights activists.

Roshchyna’s body was handed over in late February, reportedly tagged with the number 757 and falsely identified in Russian documents as an “unidentified male.”

Yuriy Belousov, head of the office’s war crimes department, said the young journalist’s body showed multiple signs of torture, including abrasions, hemorrhages, a broken rib, and possible evidence of electric shock. The investigation revealed the body bore signs of a Russian autopsy, with missing organs, including the brain, eyeballs, and part of the trachea.

An international forensic expert consulted by the project suggested the removal of these organs could obscure evidence of strangulation or asphyxiation, potentially constituting a war crime.

A bruise on Roshchyna’s neck indicated a possible hyoid bone fracture, a rare injury often linked to strangulation, the report noted.

The Russian marking “SPAS,” possibly meaning “total arterial damage to the heart,” may reflect an official cause of death.

Roshchyna’s father, Volodymyr, requested additional forensic examinations, unconvinced by initial findings, according to prosecutors.

Due to the body’s mummified state, the cause of death remains undetermined, and the Prosecutor General’s Office is arranging further tests with samples already collected, the report said.

Roshchyna worked as a freelancer for various independent news outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, and had collaborated with the Ukrainian service of U.S.-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe.

The Russians held Viktoriyia in several torture prisons, in Enerhodar and Melitopol for several months then, in December 2023, she was taken to SIZO-2 remand prison in Taganrog (Russia) which is particularly notorious for its shocking treatment of Ukrainian political prisoners.  The journalists were given access to a part of the testimony that was given on condition of anonymity, by a former hostage who shared a cell for some time at SIZO-2 with Roshchyna.  The woman recalled that Roshchyna had various scares on her body – on her arms and legs, including one caused by a knife, after her treatment in the Russian torture prisons.  The cellmate also confirmed that Roshchyna had been subjected to torture through electric currents with wires attached to the most sensitive parts of the body.  Some of the wounds were very recent, and Roshchyna clearly needed treatment for them.  Her requests for medication here and on other occasions were ignored.  

Viktoriya’s extreme weight loss appears to have been because of the torture and the psychological pressure she endured.   Aside from visiting her once, the SIZO management did nothing until June when Viktoriya was placed in hospital, seemingly for two or three weeks.  At that stage, the cellmate says, her weight had fallen dramatically.  She weighed around 30 kilograms and couldn’t stand without the cellmate’s help.  

Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages are tortured and ill-treated in all Russian and Russian-controlled prisons and SIZO, but Taganrog is especially notorious for its appalling treatment.  Since the Russian defense ministry had finally responded to the family’s formal demands for information and confirmed, in late April 2024 that Viktoriya was “detained and currently on the territory of the Russian Federation,” it is unlikely that they wanted her to die.  A number of political prisoners, prisoners of war and hostages have, however, died in Russian prisons, being either directly tortured to death or effectively, through the failure to provide medical care or release a person whose health, even by Russian standards, made detention impossible.  It seems clear that the staff believe in their impunity from punishment. 

She was held in solitary confinement from then on.  She was last seen alive on 8 September 2024.  The terse note that her father received in early October 2024 stated that the journalist had died on 19 September 2024.  She was supposed to have been included in a prisoner exchange. 

According to observations by Ukrainian officials and journalists, Russia bears full responsibility for Viktoriya’s death, as the young woman should never have been in captivity.  The fact that they are hiding her body almost certainly means that there are other crimes that they are trying to conceal.

The Committee to Protect Journalists demanded last week that Russian authorities must immediately disclose the circumstances surrounding the death in Russian captivity of Viktoriya.

“CPJ is shocked by the news of Viktoriya Roshchyna’s death during her unlawful imprisonment by Russia. We extend our deep condolences to her family and loved ones,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Responsibility for her death lies with the Russian authorities, who detained her for daring to report the truth on the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian and Russian authorities must do everything in their power to investigate Roshchyna’s death.”

Viktoriya worked for Hromadske for more than five years. She was one of those journalists who do not wait for an editorial assignment. As soon as something was happening, Viktoriya was already there. At rallies, skirmishes, sites of murders. She took on the most difficult challenges, loved law enforcement topics, attended high-profile and important court sessions. Time and geography were unimportant to her - at any moment, Viktoriya was ready to go on a business trip even before she was told to go. She had no days off, holidays, or sick leave.

In 2022, she was awarded the Courage in Journalism award by the International Women's Media Foundation for her reporting from east Ukraine.

“Viktoriya’s passing is not just the loss of a remarkable woman, but of an intrepid witness to history,” the group said in a statement after her death. “Regardless of her cause of death, we can say with certainty that her life was taken because she dared tell the truth. We hope her death will not be in vain: the international community must pressure Russia to cease targeting journalists and silencing press freedom.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has also appealed to the international community to respond to the conclusions of the investigation into the death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna in Russian captivity, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy.

“We are grateful to the Forbidden Stories consortium and 45 journalists from 13 Ukrainian and foreign media outlets for their outstanding and shocking investigation. Viktoria Roshchyna's bravery, commitment to journalism, and genuine concern for human life were extraordinary. This collaborative journalistic work emphasizes her heroism and the barbarism of her murder by the Russians, while also expanding her efforts to expose the horrific fate of thousands of civilian hostages held by Russia,” he wrote on X.

“We urge the international community to respond to the findings of this investigation, which reveal systemic war crimes, human rights violations, abduction, torture, and murder in the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia,” Tykhy noted.

“We specifically address @UNHumanRights, @UNHumanRightsUA, @UNESCO, @OSCE and @OSCE_RFoM, @coe, @CoE_CPT and @CoEHumanRights, as well as @hrw, @amnesty, and @RSF_inter,” he added.

“The issue of civilian hostages abducted and held by Russia requires increased international attention and immediate and strong response. Because what we are seeing right now is most likely the largest state-led civilian abduction operation in recent memory,” the MFA spokesperson noted.

“This must be condemned and prosecuted. Russian criminals responsible for these horrific atrocities must be held accountable,” he stressed.

Indeed, global condemnation is a must.

The ultimate perpetrator of this murder in cold blood and mutilation is Vladimir Putin, President Trump’s best friend.

‘No Surrender of Crimea to Russia’

With Crimea in the news recently and Russia and the USA using the Ukrainian peninsula as a soccer ball for their imperial purposes, I thought it would be appropriate to publish the latest statement of the Crimean Tatar People’s Mejilis, the highest representative body of the indigenous Crimean people of Ukraine, which categorically rejects recognizing Crimea as Russian. It was released on April 24, 2025.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People – the highest representative body of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people of Ukraine – categorically rejects any proposals or actions aimed at recognizing as Russian the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which are an integral part of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People warns that any attempts to recognize the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimean Peninsula as Russian, by whomever and for whatever purpose they are made, will mean:

• a gross violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, numerous resolutions of the UN General Assembly, and other fundamental norms of international law;

• encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a sovereign independent state with clearly defined internationally recognized borders, including Crimea and all other temporarily occupied territories;

• contempt and disregard for the inalienable rights of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, including the right to self-determination and participation in all decision-making processes concerning their native land;

• justification of all crimes committed against the indigenous Crimean Tatar people during the years of the colonial enslavement of Crimea by the Russian Empire;

• denial of the act of genocide against the Crimean Tatar people committed by the Soviet regime in 1944;

• encouraging the policy of ethnocide of the Crimean Tatar people, which is being carried out today by the bodies of the Russian occupation authorities, starting from the first day of the temporary occupation of Crimea in 2014, in the form of systematic pressure on the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and repressions against the inhabitants of Crimea - citizens of Ukraine, ethnically and politically motivated persecution of Crimean Tatars, banning the representative body of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people • the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, religious persecution, Russification and assimilation, destruction of cultural heritage, mass relocation of Russian citizens to the territory of Crimea in order to change the demographic and ethnic composition of the population of the Crimean peninsula;

• creating a precedent of impunity for the aggressor, when his violation of the internationally recognized borders of a sovereign state and the subsequent legitimation by other countries of the territories occupied by the aggressor will undermine the system of collective security built after World War II and which is based on the principles of peaceful coexistence, sovereign equality and inviolability of the borders of states, respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms. Such disregard for the norms of international law will be a bad signal for states, whose ruling regimes may also resort to the use of force and occupation of the territories of other states, hoping for their further legitimation.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People declares that the only legitimate way to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, establish a guaranteed and just peace in the region is the deoccupation of Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. Any other options threaten consequences in which the suffering of people, including the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, due to the violation of their fundamental rights may reach catastrophic proportions.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People call on the Governments and Parliaments of foreign states, international organizations, parliamentary associations, world politicians and moral authorities, international human rights and humanitarian organizations to show even greater solidarity with the struggle of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people for freedom, independence and the right to freely determine their future. Right now, decisive actions and measures to provide broad support to Ukraine in repelling Russian aggression will be of particular importance and consequences - military and economic assistance, strengthening sanctions, political and diplomatic pressure on the aggressor, providing legal protection to victims of Russian repression.

An example of a clear and verified position of the country, based on compliance with international law and the desire to achieve a just peace in the Russian-Ukrainian war, remains the Crimean Declaration, which was published by the US Department of State on July 25, 2018. We remain hopeful that the US position, stated in the Crimean Declaration as “…together with allies, partners, and the international community, the US rejects Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea and is committed to maintaining this policy until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored,” will not be subject to revision and revision.

The position of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People remains unchanged and consists of the following:

• unwavering commitment to the struggle for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the right of the Crimean Tatar people to self-determination in the form of national-territorial autonomy of Crimea within the independent Ukrainian state;

• categorical rejection of attempts to recognize Crimea as Russian territory – neither de facto nor de jure and from whomever side they were made;

• declaring illegal any agreements on the status of Crimea concluded and adopted without the participation and consent of the Ukrainian state and the indigenous Crimean Tatar people;

• reserving the right to initiate international consultations with leading states and organizations – the UN, EU, Council of Europe, OSCE, NATO) to prevent the legitimization of the occupation;

• strengthening the efforts of the participating countries of the International Crimean Platform and implementing comprehensive steps for the de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Crimea is Ukraine!

Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of Crimea and Ukraine, and an integral part of the Ukrainian political nation!

Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov April 24, 2025

Annihilate the Ukrainian Nation, Erase its Heritage

Bombing Ukraine’s cities, factories and countryside, and killing innocent men, women children going about their daily activities is not enough for Russia in its latest war against Ukraine.

Moscow is committed to destroying every shred of memorabilia and physical evidence of the existence of a Ukrainian culture, that predates the ersatz Russian culture thus erasing all indications of the Ukrainians’ millennial presence.

According to a handful of sources, including UNESCO, Russia has been systematically obliterating or stealing everything that testifies to the heritage of the Ukrainian nation especially since the start of this war. As of April 16, 2025, the UN agency has verified damage to 485 sites since February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine – 149 religious sites, 257 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 34 museums, 33 monuments, 18 libraries, one archive and two archaeological sites.

Russian dictator Putin, who is known for his frequent false declarations about Ukraine’s history, and other representatives of the Russia have disputed that Ukraine is a sovereign nation. Ukraine’s churches, museums and libraries are a threat to Russia, for they are the material and symbolic fabric that holds together Ukrainian identity and resistance, and prove the nation’s longevity.

The Kyiv Post reported last week that Ukraine’s intelligence directorate said 360,000 items were stolen from occupied Kherson alone – in a bid to erase the country’s national memory.

Since 2014, over five million documents belonging to Ukraine’s National Archival Fund (NAF) have fallen under Russian control following the temporary occupation of parts of Ukraine, including Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson regions.

Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) and the State Archival Service said a significant portion of these documents was illegally removed and integrated into Russia’s archival infrastructure.

The Kyiv Post reported that in newly released findings published on the War & Sanctions platform, HUR and the State Archival Service accuse Russia of violating international humanitarian law, particularly the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. After Kherson’s liberation, investigators confirmed that nearly 360,000 archival items had been looted by occupying forces.

Ukraine has now published the names of individuals and organizations allegedly involved in the illegal transfer and assimilation of stolen archives. Among those named are:

• Andrey Artizov, head of Russia’s Federal Archival Agency

• Oleg Lobov, head of the so-called “State Archival Service of the Republic of Crimea”

• Irina Krasnonos, director of the so-called “Sevastopol City Archive”

• Vitaly Semyonov, founder of the NGO “Archival Watch”

They are employees of the so-called “State Archive of the Republic of Crimea” who participated in the looting of the Kherson regional archives in 2022.

Kyiv officials say these actions are part of a broader effort by the Kremlin to erase Ukraine’s identity, distort historical truth, and obscure evidence of Russian war crimes.

The Embassy of The Netherlands has corroborated this information. “Since Russia’s invasion, the country has been fighting harder than ever to preserve its distinctive culture and cultural heritage. The Netherlands, including the embassy in Kyiv, supports Ukraine in this fight. ‘Russia denies Ukraine’s right to statehood. Everything that embodies Ukrainian identity, from art to language, is being destroyed.’”

The Embassy further noted on its website that “the war has highlighted the importance of culture for Ukrainians, says Yuliia Malynovska, culture policy officer at the Ukrainian embassy in the Netherlands. ‘In Ukraine we seize every opportunity to attend cultural events and enjoy art, literature, film and dance. This helps us feel connected to our identity and offers an escape from the horrors of the war.’”

The Embassy noted that the war with Russia is not just being fought on the front lines. Wild Tjitske Wildervanck, culture policy officer at the Dutch embassy in Kyiv, and Malynovska said that it’s also a culture war. Russia is deliberately attacking cultural targets in an attempt to erase Ukrainian culture and identity. Wildervanck: “A senior Russian official in occupied Zaporizhzhia recently said that it’s time to burn everything Ukrainian down to the root. And anything that isn’t destroyed they want to Russify. They do that by looting museums, but also by banning the Ukrainian language in occupied areas of the country.”

The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture said since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022 nearly 1,100 cultural buildings such as churches, theaters, libraries, cultural centers, museums and other symbols of Ukrainian culture have been damaged or destroyed. UNESCO has been able to verify this damage in 432 cases. Consequently, every Russian missile or drone that explodes on Ukrainian land destroys the Ukrainian national genome and national antiquity.

The Embassy further said that among the well-known examples of the attacks are the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, the library in Chernihiv and the Roman Shukhevych Museum in Lviv. In early August it was announced that the Lesia Ukrainka Museum in occupied Crimea, dedicated to the eponymous Ukrainian author and poet, had been completely destroyed. Malynovska also mentioned the frescoed home of artist Polina Rayko in Oleshky, which was a unique piece of Ukrainian heritage. The house was destroyed last year after the Russians blew up the Kakhovka dam.

Russia’s attempts to conquer Ukraine and wipe out Ukrainian culture are not new. Malynovska said: “Russia has been trying to do this for centuries.’ So it’s no accident that Ukraine marks the day it gained its independence, 24 August 1991, with a wide range of cultural events. Ukraine also celebrates those who have given their lives, whether in the past or more recently, for their country’s freedom.”

A report on PBS concurred: “War doesn’t just destroy lives. It also tears at the fabric of culture.

And in the case of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine the remarkable destruction of Ukrainian history and heritage since 2022 hasn’t been a matter of collateral damage. Rather, the Russian military has deliberately targeted museums, churches and libraries that are important to the Ukrainian people.

It’s impossible to document the full extent of the destruction, particularly in the active military zones in eastern and southern Ukraine. However, as archaeologists and filmmakers, we wanted to do what we could. This meant traveling to liberated villages, museums and churches in northern and eastern Ukraine adjacent to regions with ongoing fighting.”

PBS further noted: “Even after the fighting ends, large areas of Ukraine will remain inaccessible for years, given the widespread use of mines and environmental contaminants.

“Surviving collections and museum exhibits inside and outside of Ukraine have assumed greater importance: They may represent the sole evidence of ancient cultures originating from these damaged territories.

“We can confidently say that Europe has not experienced destruction of this magnitude, let alone this quickly, since World War II.

“The bombings of churches, libraries and residences have destroyed major areas of Ukraine. As with the Nazis’ pilfering of paintings, bronze sculptures and art in the last few years of World War II, in the first months after the invasion the Russian army looted museums, stole art and destroyed churches with missiles and tank shells.

“Make no mistake: At its core, the Russian full-scale invasion is a military attempt to erase Ukraine’s history, culture and heritage.”

Therefore, all non-Russians, such as President Trump and his White House officials, who have taken Russia’s side in this war also share this historic guilt.

Innocent Blood Continues to Flow along Ukrainian Streets

Can you imagine the Russian gunner who targeted a civilian bus and purposefully killed nine innocent harmless civilians? 

This is a consistent practice of Russian cutthroats since invading Ukraine in February 2022. Civilians and noncombatant targets are easier to destroy than Ukrainian soldiers, who by all accounts are giving the Russian invaders a helluva difficult time in seizing all of Ukraine in two or three weeks.

The Russian drone hit a bus carrying workers in the Ukrainian city of Marhanets on Wednesday, April 23, three days after Easter, killing nine people and injuring close to 50, Kyiv officials said, in an attack President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was a “deliberate war crime.”

Zelenskyy said the Russian strike hit a bus that was transporting workers of a mining and processing plant.

“An ordinary bus. Clearly a civilian object, a civilian target,” Zelenskiy said on X. “It was an egregiously brutal attack – and an absolutely deliberate war crime,” he added, calling for “an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire.”

Russia fired a total of 134 attack drones at targets in Ukraine overnight, Kyiv’s air force said. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Moscow did proclaim an Easter truce, but it was largely a lie meant to give the invaders a respite to regroup. Its attacks persisted throughout the holiday weekend.

Marhanets, in south-central Ukraine, lies on the Ukrainian-controlled north bank of the Dnipro river's dried-up reservoir that separates the warring sides.

Zelenskyy shared photographs of the aftermath of the attack on X, showing bodies lying in and next to the bus and being carried away by emergency workers. He added most of the injured were women.

Elsewhere, an energy plant that provides electricity to the city of Kherson near southern front lines was destroyed in an artillery and drone attack, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Ukraine’s emergency service also reported a drone strike on the Synelnykivskyi district in the Dnipropetrovsk region that injured two people and sparked a fire at an agricultural enterprise.

Russia further fired drones into the central region of Poltava, injuring at least six people, its governor said.

A drone attack on civilian infrastructure in the suburbs of the Black Sea port city of Odesa injured two people and sparked several fires, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

Russian drone salvoes also set off large-scale fires in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, in the northeast, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

Seven private houses, a storage building and an outbuilding were also damaged by drones hitting the Kyiv capital region, where a fire also broke out in a restaurant complex, its regional governor said.

How much more innocent Ukrainian blood has to be spilled before President Trump and his entourage of ignorant and callous representatives understand what’s happening in Ukraine and who is the murderous aggressor – Russia.

Russia’s Relentless Bombing and Killing of Ukrainians Persists

Every subsequent Russian bombing and killing of Ukrainian civilians indicates that Moscow isn’t serious about ending the war that it started in 2014 and enflamed in 2022 by invading Ukraine. Its presence at the ill-fated negotiating table is meant to hide its true intentions, which are revealed with every ballistic missile that explodes in the town square or drones that hit apartment buildings.

Russia’s ballistic missile attack yesterday on Palm Sunday against the town of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine caught churchgoers and other townspeople by surprise, killing with one blast more than 30 and injuring 117. The obvious terror of such an assault was surpassed by Moscow’s heinous plan to follow up the first explosion with a second one at the same coordinates after crowds appeared to remove the bodies from the streets and tend to the wounded men, women and children.

European leaders stridently condemned Russia for this attack during a religious holiday, one week before Easter. President Trump by contrast abstained from reproaching the Kremlin leadership for the latest senseless murder of innocent Ukrainian civilians, the target of choice for Russia.

The attack took place just two days after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss peace negotiations. It seems that no American negotiator is an equal to Russian officials who consciously and regularly deceive naïve Washington counterparts.

• “Everyone knows: This war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law, and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.

Macron also called for strong measures to “impose a ceasefire on Russia” and noted that France is working towards that goal with allies.

According to global news reports the tidal wave of denunciations was fierce.

• U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack on civilians. “President Zelenskyy has shown his commitment to peace. Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions,” he wrote on X.

• EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas wrote on X that the attack was “heartbreaking” as citizens gathered for Palm Sunday “only to be met by Russian missiles.”

“Horrific example of Russia intensifying attacks while Ukraine has accepted an unconditional ceasefire," she added, referencing Kyiv's agreement to a full 30-day ceasefire after U.S.-mediated talks in Jeddah on March 11.

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the attack was a “grim reminder” of Russia’s role as the aggressor in the full-scale war against Ukraine.

“Strong measures are urgently needed to enforce a ceasefire,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “Europe will continue to reach out to partners and maintain strong pressure on Russia until the bloodshed ends and a just and lasting peace is achieved, on Ukraine's terms and conditions.”

• European Council President and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced the strike on Sumy as “horrible and cowardly.”

“I strongly condemn this unacceptable violence, which contradicts any real commitment to peace, promoted by President Trump and supported wholeheartedly by Italy, together with Europe and other international partners,” Meloni said in a statement provided by the Italian Embassy. She pledged to work with allies to “stop this barbarism.”

• The EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, called the attack on churchgoers during Palm Sunday a “war crime” and said that Europe is “increasing pressure on Russia and supporting Ukraine in every possible way.”

“Nothing seems to be sacred to the Russians — neither churches, nor Ukrainian children,” she added.

• Finnish President Alexander Stubb condemned Russia for “slaughtering innocent civilians in Sumy” and called for increased sanctions against Moscow. “Russia shows that it has no respect for international law or humanitarian law,” he wrote on X. “We must end this war. An unconditional ceasefire must begin at once. To make it commit seriously to negotiations, sanctions against Russia need to be further strengthened.”

• Moldova’s President Maia Sandu called for more air defense for Ukraine and added that Moldova “mourns with Ukraine.” She said that “Palm Sunday is a day of peace,” emphasizing that Russia “must be held accountable” and that “there is no justification for such evil.”

• The leader of the exiled Belarusian opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on X that “Putin’s regime shows once again that it does not want peace.”

• Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the attack proves that “Russia’s goal is erasing Ukraine.” He stressed that aid to Ukraine cannot be delayed, adding that “no pressure on Russia means no peace.”

These heartening, supportive observations are in stark contrast to Trump’s insultingly blasé and baseless replies to journalists. Never an advocate for Ukraine, Trump brushed off a reporter’s questions by saying that he was told Russia “made a mistake” by attacking Sumy on a holy day.

“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing. I think, for that war to have started, is an abuse of power. This country would have never allowed that war to have started if I were president. That war is a shame,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. He declined to elaborate.

President Zelenskyy has urged Trump to visit Ukraine to “understand what Putin did.” In a CBS interview broadcast on Sunday, Zelenskyy said: “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.”

Echoing comments made years ago by Golda Meier regarding compromising during Israel’s ongoing war with the Arab world, Zelenskyy explained, “You can’t look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,” he said in an interview that was filmed on last Friday, the day White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia.

One of the Trump Administration’s latest foolhardy plans to soothe the Russian bear is to partition Ukraine like Germany was at the end of World War Two, thus accepting Putin’s demand of sovereignty over the four eastern Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. This would ultimately be the first step toward the total disappearance of Ukraine as an independent country and the Ukrainian nation as a people. The long, arduous, costly and bloody war to liberate Ukraine from Russian subjugation would have to be repeated.

There is no prospect for a just peace for Ukraine against current and future Russian aggression, one that would see the country victorious and safe within its current borders, while Trump drags
Ukraine down the anti-Ukrainian rabbit hole. Hopefully a united front of European countries – old Europe and former captive nations – can keep the Russian war machine at bay at least as long as Trump is in office.

Zelenskyy Displeased with US Reaction to Killing of Ukrainian Children

Zelenskyy Displeased with US Reaction to Killing of Ukrainian Children

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote in a post to X, "Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih. More than 50 people injured and 16 killed, including 6 children. This is why the war must end." 

President Zelenskyy said in a Saturday morning post to Telegram that the American reaction was inadequate. 

"Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such strong people -- and such a weak reaction," he said. "They are even afraid to say the word 'Russian' when talking about the missile that killed children."

Blood and Tears Flowing down the Streets

And another Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities takes its toll in the midst of phony hopes that Putin and Trump can honestly chisel out an agreement to stop the war against Ukraine.

On April 4, as Russia was lying through its teeth about wanting to halt the hostilities, Moscow again launched a ballistic missile attack on a residential area in Kryvyi Rih, President Zelenskyy’s hometown, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing at least 16 people, including nine children, and injuring more than 50, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. In Russians’ warped minds, the children were apparently regarded as enemy combatants as they were playing on a strategic playground next to their apartment building. Playgrounds are repeat targets for Russian gunners. It surely takes a demonic, depraved lack of humanity not to ensure that at least children do not fall in harm’s way as Russia fulfills its manifest destiny to kill as many civilians as possible.

Mothers cried over the bodies of their children and children mourned their dead mothers.

That same day, Russia launched an overnight barrage of drones on eastern city of Kharkiv that killed at least four people and injured 35 civilians in a residential area of Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Ukrainian officials, among them President Zelenskyy, have observed that every Russian missile or drone that strikes Ukraine means that Moscow and Putin have no real intention of stopping hostilities and ending the war and leaving Ukraine. Their pledges are pablum for American consumption.

For a clearer image of the extent of Russian duplicity and lies about its intentions for peace, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN prepared a detailed list of the Russia’s bombings and murder of Ukrainians in the month of March. As Moscow continued to feign a desire for peace, it mercilessly bombed Ukrainian targets and civilians. Here is the complete statement by Chargée d’Affaires Khrystyna Hayovyshyn at the Security Council “Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” on March 26, 2025:

Madam President, 

I would like to thank Denmark’s Presidency for convening this meeting.

I am also grateful to Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya for her substantive briefing.

The Russian Federation continues to terrorize Ukrainian civilians by relentlessly striking critical infrastructure and residential areas across the country with missiles, MLRS, guided bombs, and attack drones – causing widespread death and destruction.

Frontline and border regions, particularly Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Kharkiv, remain under constant Russian attack.

Distinguished members of the Security Council, we should focus on Russian actions and not their statements. And their actions are the following.

On the night of March 1, 2025, the Russian Federation launched at least nine Shahed drones on Kharkiv, damaging a hospital with patients inside and injuring at least seven.

On the night of 3 March 3, Russian attack on an Ecopark near Kharkiv destroyed animal enclosures, a medical center, and a mother-and-child house. The same day, airstrikes on Omelnyk (Zaporizhzhia) destroyed a home, killing one and injuring another. On March 4, a drone strike on Sumy caused a fire in a children’s medical facility.

On March 5, a ballistic missile struck a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, killing at least 4 and injuring 32, including two children. Damage included 14 apartment buildings, a post office, cultural center, shops, and vehicles.

On March 7, a massive Russian assault on energy infrastructure hit multiple regions across Ukraine: Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, Ternopil, using nearly 70 missiles and 200 drones. In Kharkiv, a missile injured civilians near an apartment building.

That same day at night, the Russian Federation launched а ballistic missile attack on the center of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, killing at least 11 people and injuring 50 others, including seven children. As firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze, Russian forces carried out а second strike, targeting the rescuers.

On March 11, Russian drones damaged an infrastructure facility in Dnipro, about 10 private houses and broke windows in a kindergarten and a school.

On March 12, Russia launched ballistic missiles at Kryvyi Rih, killing 1 person and injuring 15. Russia launched a double-tap strike on rescuers and medics who arrived at the scene. The strike damaged an infrastructure facility, multi-story residential buildings, administrative buildings, a shop, garages, 12 cars and 2 units of rescue equipment.

On March 13, Russians massively attacked Kherson with artillery, killing a woman and injuring a man. The same day, critical infrastructure facilities in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions were attacked.

On March 14, Russians attacked a hospital in Zolochiv, Kharkiv region, with drones. A double-tap attack was carried out in 40 minutes after the first strike.

On March 14 Russian troops attacked the center of Kherson with guided aerial bombs, killing 1 and injuring 7 civilians.

On March 15, an attack drone damaged 65 apartments in a multi-story building, 12 private houses and 19 cars in one of Chernihiv's neighborhoods.

On March 16, an attack drone hit a multi-story building in Chernihiv, injuring a woman.

On March 21, the Russian Federation launched a drone attack on Zaporizhzhia, killing a family – a 17-year-old girl, her father and mother. The attack injured at least 14 people, including a nine-month-old baby. The drone strikes caused fires and widespread destruction in Zaporizhzhia.

Overnight on March 23, Russia attacked residential areas of Ukraine using nearly 150 strike drones. Russia’s massive drone attack on Kyiv and the Kyiv region killed at least three people, including a father and his five-year-old daughter, and injured 10 others, including an 11-month-old baby. This attack damaged apartment buildings, private houses and cars.

On March 24, the Russian Federation launched a missile strike on the city center of Sumy, injuring at least 88 people, including 17 children, and damaging several high-rise residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, including a school.

The same day, Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv.

March 25 – the Russian forces struck a residential area in the village of Kurtivka, Donetsk region, with a FAB-250 bomb, killing a 36-year-old mother and her 3-year-old daughter, and injuring her 15-year-old daughter, who was hospitalized. The family was at a playground when the strike hit them.

Last night, Russia launched 117 strike drones – mostly Shaheds – against civilians across Ukraine. Dnipro, Sumy, Cherkasy and other regions came under Russian attack. Kryvyi Rih suffered a massive drone strike, targeting a local enterprise and the civilian infrastructure. In Okhtyrka, Sumy region, homes, stores and the civilian infrastructure were damaged. Communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions also came under fire. It was another night of Russian terror targeting Ukrainian civilians.

These attacks are a daily reality. In just the first half of March alone, the Russian Federation launched hundreds of strikes against the Ukrainian people, using approximately 2,800 guided aerial bombs, nearly 2,000 attack drones, and over 100 missiles of various types. Which means that on average, Russia used each day 200 guided aerial bombs, 143 attack drones, and 7 missiles. Every single day!

The Russian Federation must be held accountable for the vast destruction it has inflicted on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. According to Ukrainian law enforcement, over 212,000 civilian sites have been damaged or destroyed – including over 171,000 residential buildings. The attacks have also affected over 1,600 schools, with at least 200 completely destroyed, and nearly 2,000 medical facilities, of which 300 have been reduced to rubble.

Madam President, 

From the very first day of the invasion, Russia has deliberately sought to block Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, directly threatening global food security.

It has consistently targeted southern Ukraine’s port infrastructure, commercial vessels, and grain storage facilities. All this was done to weaken Ukraine’s export capacity and deliberately provoke a food crisis in regions heavily reliant on Ukrainian grain.

On March 1, Russia launched a missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, injuring two port workers and damaging two civilian vessels – including a Sierra Leone-flagged bulk carrier loaded with over 21,000 tons of corn and soybeans, and a Panama-flagged container ship.

On March 11, a ballistic missile attack on the same port killed four Syrian crew members and injured two others (a Ukrainian and a Syrian). The attack damaged another ship, docks, and grain storage facilities. The vessel targeted was loading wheat for export to Algeria.

Such strikes directly undermine food security in vulnerable regions across the globe. Today, over 40 countries rely on Ukrainian grain exports. These deliberate attacks risk deepening instability in areas already facing food shortages.

Madam President, 

In its latest report the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has further confirmed that the widespread use of torture is not incidental but a deliberate and systematic element of Russian state policy – amounting to crimes against humanity. The report documents ongoing torture of civilians and POWs, inhumane detention conditions, and the use of sexual violence – particularly against male detainees – as a method of torture. It also presents clear evidence of numerous executions of prisoners of war and a disturbing "take no prisoners" policy by the Russian military, in direct and cynical violation of the Geneva Conventions.

The Commission’s efforts to investigate and document Russia’s war crimes are essential to ensuring justice and accountability. We therefore urge continued support for its mandate and the allocation of adequate funding to sustain its work.

Ukraine also welcomes the recent OHCHR thematic report focused on the impact of Russia’s aggression on the rights of Ukrainian children – the first of its kind. The report provides vital, verified evidence of systematic violations, especially in territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

It confirms at least 669 children killed and 1,833 injured due to Russia’s use of explosive weapons in civilian areas, and documents the destruction of schools and hospitals, the militarization of children, forced implementation of Russian curricula, suppression of the Ukrainian language, and persecution of families trying to protect their children’s right to education.

Particularly alarming are the forcible transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus, the illegal change of their citizenship, and efforts to erase their Ukrainian identity.

Ukraine urges all relevant UN mandates to continue their critical monitoring and reporting work. We call on the international community to act on these findings – ensuring accountability and supporting the return of deported children through initiatives such as the Bring Kids Back UA platform and the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

On March 20, we saw one more Kremlin’s decree, which provides for the forced expulsion of Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories and in the territory of Russia, without so-called “legal grounds,” Yet another step in Russia's campaign of discrimination, persecution and forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens from their homeland, or coercion to acquire the status of a foreigner. These systematic deportations and persecutions are part of Russia's policy of genocide against Ukrainian people.

Responsible for the crime of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity must be brought to justice.

We are grateful to all those who contribute to freeing our people from Russian captivity – both military and civilian – as well as to return Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken by the Russians. It remains our priority.

Madam President,

Ukraine began recording episodic cases of the use of dangerous chemical substances by the Russian troops from the beginning of the full-scale invasion in flagrant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, by using hazardous chemical substances.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, from February 2023 to February 2025, there have been recorded and documented over 6,900 cases of Russia’s use of munitions containing hazardous chemicals. Over 3,400 Ukrainian servicemen have been hospitalized with poisoning from chemicals used by the Russians.

The two reports of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons emphasize that the evidence provided by Ukraine has been collected and provided to the OPCW representatives in compliance with the chain-of-custody and relevant procedures. Two independent OPCW designated laboratories have confirmed that the evidence provided by Ukraine contains CS substance, which is a part of riot control agents.

The situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains critically difficult.

The Russian Federation continues to ignore the UNGA resolution 78/316 “Safety and security of nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant” and IAEA General Conference and Board of Governors' resolutions on nuclear safety and security in Ukraine.

The only way to ensure nuclear safety and security is the complete withdrawal of the Russian Federation’s troops and other unauthorized personnel from all ZNPP facilities and the return of the plant to the full sovereign control of Ukraine.

Madam President, 

Ukraine welcomes President Trump’s continued efforts to end Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and restore a just and lasting peace.

We welcome American mediation and the advancing of this process. We are grateful to Saudi Arabia for hospitality and facilitation.

Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.

Ukraine has clearly demonstrated its desire for peace and its readiness to take concrete steps.

But we won`t accept “peace at any price” – as any appeasement of aggressor would only encourage it to continue attacks in the future.

Ukraine has made its three principled positions clear:

1. We will not recognize any temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as Russian.

2. We will not agree to any foreign diktat regarding the structure, number, and other characteristics of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

3. We will not accept any restrictions on Ukraine's sovereignty, our domestic and foreign policies, including on the choice of alliances that we would like to join.

We have already demonstrated our commitment to give peace a chance – as Ukraine has agreed to the US proposal of an immediate, interim and full 30-day ceasefire. Russia`s refusal to support it is a clear evidence, who is an obstacle to peace.

A crucial aspect of any future peace framework is that a temporary ceasefire does not turn into a frozen conflict. Current ceasefire efforts – the results of the consultations in Riyadh on March 23-25, 2025 – are only a measure that has to lay the foundation for permanent peace.

Ukraine and the United States have agreed to a ceasefire regarding energy facilities. We believe that such a ceasefire took effect at the moment when the relevant statement was published following the Ukrainian-U.S. meeting.

Ukraine and the United States also agreed on a ceasefire in the Black Sea, which applies not only to civilian shipping but also to ports. We believe that the agreement on the sea does not extend to Russian warships. If Russian warships – currently concentrated in the eastern part of the Black Sea – enter our territorial waters, Ukraine will consider this a threat and will exercise its right to self-defense.

We continue working closely with our American and European partners to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace with real security guarantees for our people.

Madam President,

Moscow speaks of peace while launching brutal strikes almost daily on densely populated residential areas in major Ukrainian cities. Instead of making hollow statements about peace, the Russian Federation must stop bombing Ukrainian cities and end its war against civilians.

Everyone should focus on Russian actions, not their statements. The coming days will be critical in determining whether Russia is serious about peace or intends to deceive the United States and the world.

Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed by sanctions, pressure and increased support for Ukraine.

To push the Russian Federation toward peace, we need strong measures and decisive actions.

We are ready to take the necessary steps toward peace as quickly as possible, together with the United States, Europe and all partners. However, if the Russian Federation continues attacking our energy sector, we will respond. If Russia manipulates the naval ceasefire, we will work with our partners to increase pressure. Our position will remain strong.

Ukraine resists and stands firmly. We will continue to defend ourselves. To sustain this fight against aggression, we need further international support, including in arms.

NATO and the EU are indispensable elements of regional security, and Ukraine is eager to become a part of them – not only as a security recipient but as a security provider.

We must establish a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine based on the principles of the UN Charter and with clear security guarantees.

Thank you.

As Ukraine fights in its defense against the latest Russian onslaught it is also defending its neighbors as well as Western Europeans. Ukraine understands its responsibility to the world. Hopefully the United States will do so as well and not kowtow to Russian murderous purposes.