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Ukrainian Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna’s Body Returned Home After Months of Russian Torture
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
The body of Viktoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who had been held in Russian captivity, was returned to Ukraine at the end of February, Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Tymchenko confirmed in an interview with Censor.NET on April 24.
Roshchyna was a reporter for Hromadske and had also contributed to Ukrainska Pravda, Radio Liberty, and other Ukrainian outlets.
Her identity was confirmed through DNA testing, according to Tymchenko.
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, head of Ukraine’s Parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Speech, said officials had kept the return of Roshchyna’s body quiet due to concerns about Russian disinformation tactics.
He explained that Russian authorities have previously attempted to swap or misidentify bodies and that the condition of Roshchyna’s remains made identification difficult. Her family requested multiple DNA tests — including some conducted abroad — before authorities could confidently confirm her identity.
“We can now say with certainty that the body of Vika Roshchyna has been brought home,” Yurchyshyn said.
Roshchyna was initially reported missing in Russian-occupied territory in August 2023. It wasn’t until May 2024 that Russia officially acknowledged she had been taken prisoner. Her death was confirmed five months later, in October 2024, when her father received notification from Russian officials — a claim later verified by Ukrainian authorities.
Before her death, Roshchyna was reportedly held in multiple detention centers, including Correctional Colony No. 77 in Berdyansk and Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2 in Taganrog — the latter known as one of the most brutal facilities for Ukrainian detainees in Russia.
A former cellmate told investigators that Roshchyna had visible scars on her arms and legs, stab wounds, and had been tortured with electric shocks. “She told me she was tortured with electricity and her body turned completely blue,” the cellmate said.
“Eventually, she became so weak from refusing food that she weighed only about 30 kilograms. I had to help her sit up — she couldn’t even lift her head off the pillow.”
Roshchyna had previously been kidnapped by Russian forces in March 2022 but was released after 10 days.
In 2022, she received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation for her fearless reporting from the front lines of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Earlier, A 60-year-old Crimean Tatar political prisoner, Rustem Virati, died in a penal colony in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region, Russia, after being sentenced to eight years in prison by Russian occupation authorities.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
