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Ukraine Sanctions Moscow Judge Linked to Viktoriia Roshchyna’s Imprisonment
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced sanctions against Russian propaganda media outlets and judges involved in politically motivated prosecutions of Ukrainians, according to the Presidential Office on June 12.
The sanctions list includes 29 individuals and 17 legal entities. Among those targeted are judges implicated in criminal proceedings against Ukrainians in Russia and in temporarily occupied Crimea, as well as in the in absentia sentencing of Ukrainian activists, journalists, and political figures.
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In particular, the measures include Moscow judge Timur Vakhrameyev, described as systematically issuing politically motivated rulings against Ukrainian civilians and members of volunteer military units. He is also accused of facilitating the isolation of illegally detained Ukrainian journalists and of involvement in the imprisonment of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity.
The sanctions package also targets Russian state-aligned propaganda media outlets and their editorial leadership accused of systematically spreading disinformation. These include Gazeta.Ru, Lenta.Ru, as well as the Union of Journalists of Russia.
“We believe that all those involved in the persecution of Ukrainians and the dissemination of Russian propaganda must be held accountable for their actions. Ukrainian sanctions are only the beginning, and further decisions will follow. We are grateful to human rights organisations for their information and assistance in documenting these cases,” said Presidential sanctions policy adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk.
The death of Viktoriia Roshchyna
Viktoriia Roshchyna was first reported missing in Russian-occupied territory in August 2023. Russia did not officially confirm her detention until May 2024. Her death was later confirmed in October 2024, when her father received notification from Russian authorities—a claim subsequently verified by Ukrainian officials.
According to reporting cited by international investigations, Roshchyna had been held in multiple detention facilities prior to her death, including Correctional Colony No. 77 in Berdyansk and Pre-Trial Detention Centre No. 2 in Taganrog, a facility widely described as one of the harshest sites for Ukrainian detainees in Russia.
Her death was confirmed five months after her disappearance in captivity, and Ukrainian authorities later verified the information provided by Russia. The journalist’s body was repatriated to Ukraine at the end of February 2025 as part of a broader exchange involving the remains of 757 Ukrainian citizens.
An international investigation by Forbidden Stories and a consortium of 13 media outlets later reported that the body returned to Ukraine was missing several internal organs, raising concerns about possible efforts to obscure the cause of death. The remains were delivered on February 14, 2025, during a repatriation operation in which Russian records listed the body—numbered 757—as an “unidentified male,” with an accompanying note reading “SPAS.”
Ukrainian forensic experts initially determined that the remains were female, while DNA testing conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor General later confirmed a 99% match with Viktoriia Roshchyna.
Previousluy, it was reported that a rented apartment in occupied Enerhodar, where Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna stayed in August 2023, is believed to have been fitted with audio surveillance and other monitoring equipment.
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