Viktoria Roshchyna’s Brutal Death in Russian Captivity.
They sent her back with no eyes. No brain. Just a body tagged as someone she wasn’t.
Viktoria Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023. She was a Ukrainian journalist chasing leads around Enerhodar. Then the trail went cold. No more texts. No more calls. Silence.
In February 2024, a body arrived in Kyiv during a prisoner swap with Russia. It was labeled as an unidentified male. Nobody thought twice until DNA tests revealed it was Viktoria.
She was only 27.
Forensic reports painted a nightmare. Her head was shaved. Her eyes were gone. Her brain was missing. Part of her throat had been cut out. Her feet were burned. A small tag with her last name was tied to her leg. Her rib was broken. Signs of electric shock were also found.
She had been tortured.
Ukrainian officials say Viktoria spent most of her captivity inside the Taganrog SIZO-2 prison. The place has been compared to Guantanamo Bay. A black hole where people vanish. No rights. No contact. She was held incommunicado the entire time.
She was moved between different Russian-controlled areas, including Melitopol and Enerhodar. At one point, she spoke to a fellow detainee. She said a Russian officer offered her a way out. A deal. But she refused. She said she stood by her principles.
Her father, Volodymyr, never stopped believing she was alive. On October 10, he received a letter from Russian authorities claiming his daughter had died. No details were included. No cause of death. Just the words. Still, he waited. He hoped.
Then, in April 2024, it became official. The DNA confirmed it. The body returned in February was his daughter.
Viktoria Roshchyna is now known as the first Ukrainian journalist to die in Russian captivity. Her story is not just about war. It’s about what happens when you speak the truth and the system wants silence.
