Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Kenya in collaboration with the PEN Kenya (organization for writers, essayists, novelists and journalists) organized a commemorative event in the memory of journalists and writers, killed by the Russian occupational forces or persecuted around the globe by the Russian totalitarian regime. The event was dedicated to the memory of Victoria Roshchyna, Ukrainian journalist who reported on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Siege of Mariupol.

Viktoriia Roshchyna was captured by the Russian military in the summer of 2023 near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It was her last trip into the temporary occupied territories of Ukraine.

Roshchyna died after a year in Russian detention, aged 27.

Information on the circumstances of her death is limited. Roshchyna was held without charge and without access to a lawyer.

Her only known contact with the outside world was a four-minute phone call to her parents, a year after she was captured.

The exact cause of death may never be known because when her body was returned during the exchange on 14 February 2025, certain parts were missing: the brain, eyes and larynx. According to the forensic experts these are the likely signs that V. Roshchyna was strangled and those, who detained her, were trying to hide the real cause of her death.

During the ceremony, held in the traditions of the PEN community, attendees were formally admitted as members of Kenyan PEN by Secretary General Tony Mochama.

The admission was sponsored by voluntary donation from the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Kenya.