Viktoriia Roshchyna is the first Ukrainian journalist known to have died in Russian hands in the three-year-plus war in Ukraine, and now some disturbing details are emerging on captivity and death. Per a new report released by journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories, in conjunction with more than a dozen other outlets, the 27-year-old vanished in the summer of 2023 while reporting in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, a Russian-controlled region—a rare move for a Ukrainian journalist due to the dangers.
- Death: In October, Roshchyna's parents received a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry saying their daughter had died on Sept. 19 while being transferred from Taganrog to Moscow, but when her body was discovered in February in a morgue in Vinnytsya, it didn't appear as if she'd died a quiet death.
- Grim update: "The forensic examination revealed numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment on the victim's body, including abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib, neck injuries, and possible electric shock marks on her feet" reads a letter from Ukrainian prosecutors. The report noted there'd apparently been an autopsy conducted on Roshchyna's body before it was returned to Ukraine, and that some of her organs were missing, including her eyeballs, larynx, and parts of her brain—which prosecutors say was "possibly intended" to conceal torture Roshchyna had undergone. What took place "could qualify as yet another war crime in this case," per Forbidden Stories.
- Backstory: NBC News notes Roshchyna had worked for various independent news outlets, including Radio Free Europe and Ukrainska Pravda. "Viktoriia was the only reporter who covered the occupied territories. For her, it was a mission," Sevgil Musaieva, Roshchyna's editor at the latter outlet, tells Forbidden Stories. "She was the bridge between Ukraine and those territories who provided this critical information about life [there]. After she disappeared, there is no coverage of what is happening."
- Aftermath: The Committee to Protect Journalists has squarely placed blame for Roshchyna's death on Moscow. Roshchyna's father, meanwhile, claims the body isn't that of his daughter, known as Vika to those close to her, despite strong DNA evidence, and has demanded more forensic analysis to confirm his suspicions, per CBS News. Russian officials have so far stayed mostly mum.
Much more on Roshchyna's case
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