The body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was returned to Ukraine on 25 February during a prisoner exchange with Russia, Ukrainian officials confirmed on 24 April.
Ukrainian journalist Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted her detention the following year. After several months her parents were informed about her death in the Russian prison.
Prosecutor General’s Office officials said following the return of the body that the journalist’s remains showed “numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment” but the exact cause of death could not be determined due to the body’s condition.
Through DNA testing, experts concluded with over 99% probability that the body belongs to Viktoriia, said Yurii Belousov, head of the war crimes department at the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Belousov said that Roshchyna’s body showed evidence of severe mistreatment. “Due to the body’s condition, changes, and mummification, the forensic examination could not establish the cause of death,” he said during a briefing in Kyiv.
Experts found bruises and abrasions on various parts of Roshchyna’s body and a broken rib. There were also possible signs of electric shock torture, which will be investigated further in additional forensic examinations involving international experts, according to Belousov.
According to Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Tymchenko, Roshchyna’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing. He provided this information in an interview with Censor.net published on 24 April.
Russia had claimed Roshchyna died on 19 September 2024, but did not return her remains for approximately five months.
The 27-year-old freelance journalist disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Russian-occupied territories. Moscow only admitted to her detention in May 2024.
Ukrainian officials confirmed Roshchyna’s death on 10 October 2024, but indicated the circumstances remained under investigation.
According to the Media Initiative for Human Rights, Roshchyna was held in at least two notorious Russian detention facilities: penal colony No. 77 in occupied Berdiansk and detention center No. 2 in Russia’s Taganrog. Both facilities are known for using torture against prisoners.
Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info reported in March that Roshchyna was tortured with electric shocks while in captivity, citing an unnamed witness from the Taganrog detention center. The witness also reported seeing cuts on Roshchyna’s arms after interrogations and said the journalist’s weight had dropped to approximately 30 kilograms.
Roshchyna had previously been detained by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers for 10 days in March 2022 while leaving Berdiansk headed toward Mariupol. She was forced to record a video stating Russian forces had saved her life as a condition of her release.
Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, said officials knew about the body’s return but delayed announcing it at the family’s request.
“We knew that as part of repatriation efforts, a body was returned to Ukraine, preliminary examination of which established a match with the DNA of UP freelancer Viktoriia Roshchyna. But since the family insisted on additional international examinations, we did not disclose this information,” Musaieva said.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, chair of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech, explained the extended delay in announcing the return of Roshchyna’s remains. “Given the torture and the condition of her body, Roshchyna’s family requested not one, but several DNA examinations,” Yurchyshyn wrote on Facebook. “As far as I know, the examinations were carried out not only in Ukraine but also abroad to ensure that it was Viktoriia.”
Read also:
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- Ukraine calls on Russia to return body of journalist Victoria Roshchyna who died in captivity
- Ukrainian top media, human right organizations demand investigation into death of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna
