The brutal detention and death of a young Ukrainian journalist
London: A Ukrainian journalist was tortured and killed while in Russian custody, according to a damning investigation, marking the first confirmed death of a Ukrainian reporter in Russian hands since its full-scale invasion began in 2022.
The body of 27-year-old Viktoriia Roshchyna was returned to Ukraine in February, nearly five months after Russian authorities said she had died during a prison transfer. A forensic examination found signs of brutal torture and mutilation, raising fresh accusations of war crimes by Russian forces occupying parts of south-eastern Ukraine.
Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 after travelling to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region to investigate the detention and torture of civilians.
A joint report by Paris-based Forbidden Stories and 12 international media partners, released on Tuesday, found that the young journalist had been held in at least two notorious detention facilities – Berdiansk Penal Colony No. 77 and Taganrog Detention Centre No. 2 – both linked to systemic abuse.
Ukrainian prosecutors said her body bore signs of severe mistreatment, including abrasions, haemorrhages, a broken rib, injuries to her neck and suspected electric burns on her feet.
'The body also showed evidence of an autopsy conducted prior to its return, and multiple internal organs were missing,' Yuriy Belousov, head of the War Crimes Unit at Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, said. 'This suggests a possible attempt to obscure the real cause of death and cover up a war crime.'
The official Russian explanation, communicated in a letter to Roshchyna's parents, claimed she died on September 19, 2024, while being transferred from Taganrog to Moscow. No independent verification of that account has been made. Russia's Defence Ministry, Federal Penitentiary Service and FSB did not respond to requests for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Ukrainian man arrested over Nord Stream pipeline 'sabotage' attacks in 2022
A Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines has been arrested by Italian police. Seen by both Russia and the West as an act of sabotage, no one has ever taken responsibility for explosions that severely damaged pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe in September 2022. The suspect, identified only as Serhii K in line with German privacy rules, was allegedly part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm, a statement from the prosecutor's office said. He was arrested overnight by officers from a police station in Misano Adriatico, near the Italian city of Rimini, federal prosecutors said. Explosions on September 26, 2022, damaged the pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources, following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Investigators have been largely tight-lipped, but said two years ago they found traces of undersea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that was searched as part of the probe. Serhii K is believed to have been one of the coordinators and is suspected of causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage and the destruction of structures, the statement said. The suspect and others used a yacht that set off from the German port of Rostock, which had been hired from a German company using forged identification and with the help of intermediaries, prosecutors said. They didn't give any information on the other people aboard the yacht or say anything about who else might have been involved in coordinating the suspected sabotage. The group is also alleged to have damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February of that year. Russia has accused the US of staging the explosions, a charge Washington has denied. The pipelines were long a target of criticism by the US and some of its allies, who warned that they posed a risk to Europe's energy security by increasing dependence on Russian gas. In 2023, German media reported a pro-Ukraine group was involved in the sabotage. Ukraine rejected suggestions it might have ordered the attack and German officials voiced caution over the accusation. Prosecutors didn't say when they expected Serhii K to be handed over to German authorities. Germany's justice minister said the arrest was an "impressive success" for state prosecutors. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig also called for the case to be fully resolved, including under criminal law, she said in a statement. Reuters/AP
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Ukrainian arrested over Nord Stream pipeline attacks
A Ukrainian citizen suspected of taking part in the undersea explosions in 2022 that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany has been arrested. The suspect, identified only as Serhii K in line with German privacy rules, was arrested overnight in Italy's Rimini province, German prosecutors said on Thursday. He was believed to be one of the co-ordinators of the operation, they said. Explosions on September 26, 2022, damaged the pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was Russia's main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies at the end of August 2022. They also damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February of that year. Russia has accused the US of staging the explosions, a charge Washington denies. The pipelines were long a target of criticism by the US and some of its allies, who warned they posed a risk to Europe's energy security by increasing dependence on Russian gas. In 2023, German media reported that a pro-Ukraine group was involved in the sabotage. Ukraine rejected suggestions it might have ordered the attack and German officials voiced caution over the accusation.
7NEWS
8 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Why Putin wasn't arrested in the US despite ICC warrant and won't be nabbed in Europe either
Russian President Vladimir Putin remains a wanted man by the International Criminal Court (ICC), yet he faced no arrest threat during his visit in Alaska and ahead of a potential peace summit with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in Europe. The ICC issued a warrant against Putin in March 2023 for alleged war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. The Kremlin denies the charge. So far, this warrant has been largely symbolic. The court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, has no enforcement arm and relies on member states to arrest suspects. Currently 125 states have ratified the ICC: 19 in the Asia-Pacific, 28 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 33 in Africa, and 45 in Europe, meaning Putin could, in theory, be arrested in most parts of the world. Australia, like all other countries having signed the ratification, is obligated to arrest Putin if he enters the country, for example. However, enforcing such a warrant against a sitting head of state, particularly one from a major nuclear power, would be diplomatically and logistically complicated in practice. Why was Putin not detained during his recent visit to Alaska? Putin met with US President Donald Trump in the US state of Alaska last week to discuss a potential peace deal for Ukraine. But the United States, like Russia, do not recognise the ICC and is under no legal obligation to enforce its decisions. With Trump acting as host, the scenario provided legal and logistical protection for the Kremlin leader. Trump has taken on a mediator role, meeting with both sides and several European leaders. Now talks are underway for a potential summit between Putin and Zelensky, their first since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. 'I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We'll see if they can get along,' Trump said on Monday. Trump's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Putin had agreed in principle to a summit. While Ukrainian and Russian officials have expressed a tentative willingness to engage in direct talks, hopes for a Putin-Zelensky summit have taken a hit after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov poured cold water on any sense of urgency. A meeting would have to be prepared 'gradually, starting with the expert level and going through all the required steps,' Lavrov said on Russian state TV, sticking to the Kremlin's noncommittal script. Locations for talks between Putin and Zelensky Despite the remarks casting further doubt on whether a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders will happen any time soon, the risk of Putin being arrested is significantly reduced if the location of the talks is chosen in a country either not bound by ICC obligations, or willing to make exceptions. According to Politico, signs point to Budapest, where the Hungarian government under Viktor Orban is reportedly preparing security arrangements. Hungary, once an ICC member, formally withdrew from the court's jurisdiction in May 2025, removing any legal requirement to detain Putin. Austria and Switzerland have also offered to host the summit. Austria is a member of the European Union and has taken positions against Russian aggression in the past. Still, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker stated his country would allow Putin to enter for the summit, citing Vienna's 'long tradition' as a venue for international diplomacy. Vienna is home to more than 40 intergovernmental organisations and known the world over as one of just four major office sites of the United Nations (UN). Switzerland, meanwhile, maintains its neutrality and would likely extend similar diplomatic protections. France has also proposed Geneva in Switzerland as a host city, with President Emmanuel Macron stressing the importance of selecting a neutral country. Also on the cards is Istanbul in Turkey, where the most recent delegations from the two countries took place, a White House official said, as Turkey is not an ICC member. Whether the summit actually takes place remains uncertain, but if it does, the ICC warrant will not be what stops Vladimir Putin from walking into the room.
