Russia returns to Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna’s body, arrested and died in detention

Russia has returned the body of a Ukrainian journalist who has been occupied Ukraine Ukrainian MPs said on Thursday that they later died in Russia’s detention.

Victoria RoshchynaDead at the age of 27, missing in part of a report in Moscow-controlled Ukraine in August 2023 Zaporizhzhia Region After passing through Russian territory.

Until April 2024, her father received a letter from the Moscow Ministry of Defense saying she was detained in Russia.

Her arrest was not made public, and Russia did not explain her death, originally reported in October 2024.

“The body of Victoria Roshchyna is in Ukraine. The body of the journalist was part of the exchange in late February,” Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn said on Thursday.

Yurchyshyn said officials chose not to disclose that her body had been returned until they were absolutely sure it was her.

He added: “Considering the torture and condition of the body, Roshchina’s family requested not one, but several DNA tests.”

Journalist’s Joint Investigation without Borders and Ukrainian Investigation News Media Slidstva found her arrested in Energodar, southern Ukraine, and later lasted for weeks in the Russian-owned city of Melitopol.

From there, she was transferred to the prison in the Russian port city of Taganrog. Investigation said she stopped eating in prison and “sword wounds” on her body.

Russia does not usually comment on the treatment of prisoners, but rather says it investigates instances of torture in its penal system.

According to the rights group, thousands of Ukrainians who oppose Moscow’s rule have been detained in occupied territory since the Russian invasion in 2022, many of whom have been tortured at the hands of security forces. Last year, the BBC Russia reported that thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including Russian custody, were not guilty or contacted by legal counsel.

Roshchyna has worked as a freelancer in a variety of independent news media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, and has worked with Ukrainian services firms in Europe, funded by the US media media radio.

According to the Committee for Protection of Journalists, in March 2022, Roshkina was detained by Russian troops for 10 days during a report in southeastern Ukraine.

In 2022, she won the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage News Award for her coverage from Eastern Ukraine.

“Victoria’s death was not only a loss of a brilliant woman, but a brave witness to history,” the group said in a statement following her death. “Whatever the cause of her death, we can say with certainty that her life was because she dared to tell the truth. We hope her death will not be futile: the international community must force Russia to stop the freedom of the press against journalists and silent.”

The Committee that protects journalists also condemns Moscow’s death.

“The responsibility for her death was the Russian authorities, who detained her because she dared to report the truth about the Russian-Ukrainian war,” the CPJ’s European and Central Asia Programme Coordinator said in a statement. “Ukrainian and Russian authorities must do everything they can to investigate Roshchen’s death.”