Ukrainian journalist Roshchyna died in Russian custody in September 2024, investigation finds
Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo determined the date of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna's death in Russian captivity to be Sept. 19, 2024, while in custody at a pre-trial detention center in the Russian town of Kizel, Perm Krai.
Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 while reporting in Russian-occupied territories. Russian authorities confirmed her detention the following year. In October 2024, her father received official notification from Russia informing him of her death.
Roshchyna was illegally held in multiple Russian detention facilities for over a year, according to the investigation.
Eight days before her death, Roshchyna was transferred from a pre-trial detention center in Taganrog to another facility in Kizel, nearly 2,500 kilometers (1,554 miles) away. The transfer took approximately three days.
According to testimony from a released Ukrainian soldier, identified only as Danylo for security reasons, Roshchyna was held in appalling conditions, appeared severely exhausted, and bore visible signs of torture.
A former female detainee, speaking to journalists on condition of anonymity, said she witnessed knife wounds and evidence of electric shock torture on Roshchyna’s body.
Investigators from Slidstvo obtained access to Roshchyna's death certificate from closed Russian databases. The certificate, issued by the Leninsky Department of the Civil Registry Office under the Perm City Administration, lists her date of death as Sept. 19, 2024. This information was also confirmed by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said that Roshchyna’s body was returned to Ukraine in a condition that made a full forensic examination impossible.
Journalists have identified several senior officials at the Kizel pre-trial detention center who may have been involved in Roshchyna’s death.
As of September 2024, the facility was headed by 39-year-old Vitaly Spirin, who served as acting director. He was replaced in November by 40-year-old Vyacheslav Perevozkin, who remains in charge of the center.
Roshchyna may also have come into contact with several senior staff members at the detention center, including officials responsible for security, personnel, and logistics.
Almost all of these officials are still employed at the facility, according to the investigation.
Roshchyna’s body was returned to Ukraine in late February 2024, falsely labeled as an "unidentified man." A forensic investigation later confirmed her identity through DNA testing.
A media investigation found that her body was returned with several organs missing, raising suspicions that the disfigurement may have been intended to conceal evidence of suffocation.
