Ukraine suspects Russia of torturing Ukrainian journalist

25/4/2025 6:28

Ukraine said on Thursday it

identified the body of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had

died in Russian captivity, and a forensic medical examination

revealed signs of torture and ill-treatment.



Viktoria Roshchyna died at the age of 27 last September

after spending months in captivity.



The Russian defence ministry did not immediately reply to a

request for comment.



The journalist, whose first-hand reports provided a glimpse

into life under Russian occupation early in Moscow's invasion,

went missing in August 2023 during a reporting trip to

Russia-held eastern Ukraine.



The body of the journalist was discovered among bodies that

Russia handed over to Ukraine in February, Ukraine's prosecutor

general's office said on Thursday.



"A tag with the surname Roshchyna was found on one of them,"

it said in a statement. The DNA tests showed that chances the

body belonged to Roshchyna were over 99%, and additional tests

are being carried out with the help of French specialists, it

said.



Roshchyna's family learned about her death last year from a

letter from Russia's defence ministry, Reuters previously

reported citing the campaign group Reporters Without Borders. It

said she had died on September 19.



Ukrainian forensic experts were unable to determine the

cause of death, but found signs of injuries and possible

torture, Yurii Bielousov, head of the war crimes department for

Ukraine's prosecutor general, said on Thursday.



"According to the results of the forensic medical

examination, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were

found on the victim's body, in particular, abrasions and

hemorrhages on various parts of the body, and a rib was broken,"

he said in a video released by Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska

Pravda.