A former prisoner who was released from Russian captivity in October 2025 has shared details about the detention conditions of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna in Taganrog pre-trial detention center, according to Slidstvo.Info.
The ex-prisoner, who goes by the pseudonym Brytva, was held in a neighboring cell to Roshchyna for some time. He told journalists they could communicate by tapping on the walls before sleep and wishing each other goodnight.
"Roshchyna 'got it' badly. In the Russians' opinion, she behaved poorly, was noisy. They needed everyone to sit quietly and not open their mouth. And she kept asking for a psychologist, or to change books. She constantly requested to see operational staff," Brytva said.
According to the ex-prisoner, guards repeatedly sent Roshchyna to solitary confinement for what they considered "wrong behavior."
"In solitary there are systematic beatings. There's a small cell, in the morning you take out the mattress, they fold up the bed and that's it. You either walk or sit on the floor," he said.
During one morning inspection, Roshchyna once again asked to see a psychologist. The request angered the guards.
"And the girl starts having a hysterical fit. And they (the guards — ed.) shout at her: 'Go to your cell! Don't get on our nerves!' And she goes into the cell. We hear screams. And she, as I understood it, tore off the plastic lamp cover and cut her veins. But not badly, just damaged the skin. The medics came running," Brytva recalled.
A cellmate previously reported finding multiple scars on Roshchyna's arms and legs, as well as knife wounds. The journalist told her she had been tortured with electricity, after which "she was all blue," according to the cellmate's account. Roshchyna later began losing weight dramatically, refusing food until she weighed around 30 kilograms.
Viktoriia Roshchyna disappeared in occupied territories on 3 August 2023. Russia confirmed it was holding her captive only in May 2024. Russians had also kidnapped the journalist in March 2022, but she was freed after 10 days.
Her death became known on 10 October 2024. Information about the journalist's death came to her father Volodymyr from Russian officials. The Ukrainian side later confirmed the information.
Media Initiative for Human Rights stated that Roshchyna was held in at least two prisons: correctional colony No. 77 in Berdiansk and pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Taganrog, Russia. The Taganrog detention center is known as "one of the most brutal detention places for Ukrainians on Russian territory."
According to investigative journalists from Forbidden Stories, Roshchyna's body was transferred in February during an exchange of 757 fallen defenders' bodies. The examination revealed that some internal organs were missing, including the brain, eyeballs, and part of the trachea.
Viktoriia was buried on August 8 at Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv. Several hundred people came to pay their respects, including her father and younger sister, former colleagues, and concerned citizens.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously awarded Roshchyna the Order of Freedom. The decree recognizes her "civic courage, patriotism, selfless defense of sovereignty and independence of the Ukrainian state, constitutional rights and human freedoms."
"Today we honor Victoria Roshchyna posthumously. She is awarded the Order of Freedom. For unwavering faith that freedom will overcome everything. Honor and bright memory to Victoria Roshchyna," Zelenskyy wrote.
Roshchyna worked for hromadske and later published in Ukrainska Pravda and Radio Svoboda. She also collaborated with Ukrainian Radio, UA: Pershyi, and Censor.net. In 2022, she received the International Women's Media Foundation's Courage in Journalism Award
