Witness Describes Ukrainian Journalist’s Final, Emaciated Days in Russian Custody

A harrowing eyewitness account has shed fresh light on the final days of Viktoriia Roshchyna, the 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian custody after being seized while reporting from Russian-occupied territory.

According to a fellow prisoner and Ukrainian authorities, Roshchyna was emaciated and in dire health, described by a witness as “very, very thin” and barely able to walk, speak, or eat during her transfer to a notorious Russian prison facility in Kizel, in Russia’s Perm region.

Roshchyna had been captured in August 2023 and later moved deep into Russian territory, where conditions were reported as brutal and inhumane.

Witnesses and investigations indicate that she endured severe mistreatment, including hunger, illness and alleged torture, while held in multiple detention centers, initially in occupied Ukrainian regions and later in Russian facilities.

She was reportedly handed over to prisoners and guards in such poor condition that she struggled simply to lift her head. Despite promises that she would be included in a prisoner exchange, she was instead transferred further into Russia.

The last confirmed sighting of her alive was on 11 September 2024, and Russian authorities later notified her family that she had died on 19 September 2024, but provided no clear cause of death or official documentation at the time.

Her body was returned to Ukraine months later, in February 2025, under circumstances that prevented a full forensic examination.

Ukrainian investigators and forensic experts found numerous signs of torture and abuse, including abrasions, hemorrhages, and a broken rib; some internal organs were missing, deepening concerns about attempts to conceal the true cause of her death.

Ukrainian prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation, and EU sanctions have been imposed on some Russian prison officials implicated in the case.

Roshchyna’s death, the first known death of a Ukrainian journalist in Russian captivity during the conflict, has drawn international condemnation and raised urgent questions about the treatment of detainees, press freedom, and accountability for abuses in detention.

Her colleagues, family, and human rights groups continue to demand full transparency and justice, emphasizing that her deteriorating health and mistreatment in custody reflect systemic problems in the treatment of civilians and journalists held by Russian authorities.

Sources: The Guardian, news.liga.net, Rubryka