International media outlets take up investigation into journalist Roshchyna's captivity
A total of 13 international media outlets have joined the investigation into the captivity of the deceased journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna and the detention of civilians in Russian prisons.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda article, Project Viktoriia: Story of captivity and torture experienced by journalist Roshchyna and thousands of Ukrainians imprisoned by Russia
Quote: "After news of the death of Viktoriia Roshchyna broke on 10 October 2024, the editorial team immediately launched the Viktoriia Project to complete her extremely important investigation.
Forbidden Stories undertook to examine the circumstances of the journalist's captivity in Russia and to continue her work on the stories of Ukrainians held captive by Russia. Rough estimates indicate over 16,000 civilians are imprisoned in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and in the Russian Federation.
For over six months, an in-depth examination of documents, testimonies and court materials has been ongoing. The investigation involved 13 international media outlets, including Forbidden Stories, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Le Monde, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, ZDF, Paper Trail Media, IStories, France 24, Ukrainska Pravda and Der Standard."
Details: A team of 45 journalists conducted over 50 interviews with those who have survived Russian imprisonment and know the system from the inside.
On 14 February 2025, Russia handed over the bodies of 757 fallen Ukrainian defenders to the Ukrainian side. Among them was body number 757, which was recorded in Russian documents as an "unidentified male" and bore only one unclear marking: СПАС (SPAS)
During the initial examination, forensic pathologists determined that the body belonged to a woman. An investigation conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office revealed a 99% DNA match with journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna.
"Due to the condition of the body and its mummification, it was not possible to establish the cause of death through the forensic examination," Yurii Bielousov, Head of the War Department at the Prosecutor General's Office, told journalists.
Bielousov stated that numerous signs of torture and cruel treatment were found on the victim's body, including abrasions and bruises on various parts of the body and a broken rib. Experts also noted possible indications of electric shock being used.
The investigative team conducting the inquiry told our project that the body had been brought back to Ukraine bearing signs of an autopsy performed in Russia. During the examination, it was discovered that several internal organs were missing, including the brain, the eyeballs and part of the trachea.
An international forensic pathologist whom we consulted believes that the absence of these organs could have concealed evidence that death was caused by strangulation or suffocation.
The abbreviation СПАС in Russian may indicate the "official cause of death" recorded by the Russian authorities and literally stands for "cumulative damage to the arteries of the heart".
The official investigation is ongoing.
Read the texts of Viktoriia Roshchyna on UP
Background:
Viktoriia Roshchyna left Ukraine for Poland on 25 July 2023 to travel to the occupied territory. She planned to reach the occupied part of Ukraine's east via Russia in three days.
Roshchyna disappeared on 3 August 2023 in the TOT from where she was reporting.
Russia admitted for the first time in May 2024 that they had detained Roshchyna. The Russian Ministry of Defence sent a letter of confirmation to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn.
On 10 October 2024, Petro Yatsenko, the head of the press service for the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, confirmed on the national joint 24/7 newscast that Viktoriia Roshchyna had died in Russian custody. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said she had been due to be brought back to Ukraine in the near future.
On 11 October, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that the criminal proceedings initiated into Roshchyna's disappearance had been reclassified as a war crime combined with premeditated murder.
Investigators of the Slidstvo.info media outlet found out that Roshchyna was brutally tortured in Russian captivity. She had stab wounds on her body and had been electrocuted, and staff at the Russian penal colony where she was held hid her away when inspections were carried out.
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