Government starts payments in cases of death or injury of journalists: the first will be received by the father of Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity

The Cabinet of Ministers is initiating payments in cases of death or injury of journalists while performing their professional duties. The first payment is being made to the father of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity. This was announced by Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko on social media, as reported by UNN.

Details

"The government is initiating payments in cases of death or injury of journalists while performing professional duties. Yesterday, a decision was made to provide a one-time payment through the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting. We are making the first payment to the father of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity," Svyrydenko announced.

According to her, this program is provided for in the state budget for 2026.

She noted that, unfortunately, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has killed 21 journalists while performing their official duties, including Ukrainians and foreigners.

"These are all crimes for which Russia must answer," Svyrydenko emphasized.

Addition

According to the government decree of 2016 "On approval of the Procedure for payment of one-time monetary assistance in case of death (demise) or injury (contusion, trauma or mutilation) of a journalist while performing his professional duties," monetary assistance is paid in case of death (demise) of a journalist while performing his professional duties - in the amount of 100 subsistence minimums established by law for able-bodied persons at the time of payment of such amount, in equal shares to the family members of the deceased, and in the absence of family members or their refusal to receive monetary assistance - to his parents and dependents in equal shares.

As of December, this amount is 302,280 hryvnias.

In October, a meeting of the interdepartmental commission on the payment of one-time monetary assistance took place, where it was decided to appoint Volodymyr Mykhailovych Roshchyn - the father of the deceased journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna - a one-time monetary assistance in the amount of 100 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons at the time of payment of such amount.

Viktoriia Roshchyna went missing on August 3, 2023, during a trip to the temporarily occupied territories. Only in May 2024 did Russia officially confirm her arrest. In February 2025, the journalist's body was handed over to Ukraine as an "unidentified male body."