26/09/2025 President
PACE will launch an annual “Victory for Viktoria” commemoration to honour war correspondents and journalists who risk, and often lose, their lives defending the right to information and truth in conflict zones.
The initiative was proposed by PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos and welcomed by the Assembly in the context of a forthcoming resolution on the liberation of Ukrainian journalists in Russian captivity. It will be inaugurated during the Assembly’s autumn part-session with the opening of a photo exhibition of the same name on 1 October in Strasbourg, at the request of Yevheniia Kravchuk, member of the Ukrainian delegation.
“I would like to salute and support the proposal made by the President of the Assembly to establish an annual Victory for Viktoria commemoration, honouring war correspondents and journalists who risk and often lose their lives in the line of duty while defending the right to information and truth in conflict zones,” said Ms Kravchuk. “Mr Rousopoulos proposed that this commemoration should be named in memory of Viktoria Roshchyna, although her story is not an isolated one. Every year, dozens of journalists are killed, imprisoned, or forcibly disappeared in war zones.”
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The initiative commemorates Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who was abducted and killed while reporting on Russia’s war against Ukraine, and symbolises the dangers faced by journalists worldwide. The commemoration aims to honour journalists killed or disappeared in conflict, promote freedom of expression and media independence as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, and support Council of Europe initiatives such as the Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists. It also forms part of the Council of Europe’s Journalists Matter campaign, which calls for stronger protection of journalists and an end to impunity for crimes committed against them.