Kyiv Mourns Journalist Tortured Before Dying In Russian Detention
Family, friends, and colleagues hold a farewell ceremony on August 8 for Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who appeared to have been tortured before dying while in Russian captivity.
Family, friends, and colleagues held a farewell ceremony in Kyiv on August 8 for Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who went missing in Russian-occupied territories before being confirmed dead while in Russian captivity, where she appeared to have been tortured.
Roshchyna, a 27-year-old freelance journalist who had previously worked with RFE/RL and other prominent Ukrainian media outlets, went missing in early August 2023. A year later, she called her family from Russian custody, the only time they heard from their daughter after her disappearance.
It wasn't until October 2024 that her death was confirmed by Petro Yatsenko, a representative of Ukraine's Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, following an investigation into her disappearance.
"Viktoria, as a person, as a journalist, as a colleague, was someone to whom it was important to do what no one else could or even wanted to do," Taras Ilkiv, chief digital editor for RFE/RL's Ukrainian bureau, said during the ceremony in Kyiv.
Roshchyna had traveled from Ukraine to Poland on July 27, 2023, before heading toward the Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, according to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn.
He said Russia's Defense Ministry informed him in May 2024 that his daughter had been detained and was on the territory of the Russian Federation, but gave no reason for why she was being held.
Her last known communication was on August 3, 2023, and in October 2024, Roshchyn was told by Russian authorities that his daughter had died a month earlier.
Again, no details were given, but on February 14 this year a body numbered 757 and marked by Russian documents as an "unidentified male" was handed over to Ukraine.
Pathologists quickly determined the body was actually that of a female. An examination conducted by investigators from the Prosecutor General's Office revealed a 99 percent accurate match with Roshchyna's DNA.
The Russian document also contained the designation "SPAS," which is used to denote the "total failure of the arteries of the heart."
Analysts say the SPAS designation was likely an attempt by Russian authorities to conceal evidence of torture and strangulation that Roshchyna endured.
Yuriy Belousov, head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict at Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, told RFE/RL's News of Azov service that while it's "extremely difficult" to establish bodily harm when a body is returned in the condition Roshchyna's was, experts were still able to conclusively determine "evidence that Viktoria was definitely abused."
Undercover In Ukraine's Occupied Kherson: 'You Don't Know What Will Happen Tomorrow'
1/16A Russian servicemen outside one of the occupied villages near Kherson.
"We are from Donetsk. How do you feel about May 9?" one soldier asked RFE/RL at a checkpoint, referring to the date on which Russia commemorates Victory Day over Nazi Germany. After checking documents, those manning checkpoints often ask for cigarettes.
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
2/16A Russian checkpoint in the occupied Kherson region in April 2022.
The road to Kherson is nearly empty. On the way you can find broken equipment, plundered gas stations, and shell craters. Fields and forests -- what the Kherson region has always been famous for -- are now "sown" with the equipment of the Russian occupiers.
“People were sowing and planning the harvest. And now what? ” one local driver told RFE/RL.
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
3/16A Russian armored personnel carrier near one of the villages in the occupied Kherson region.
"A lot of vehicles are coming in from Crimea. Every night, we hear them move," one local resident said. "When our troops start a counterattack, it will be hot."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
4/16Occupying troops raise a Soviet victory banner, featuring the hammer and sickle, at Park Slavy (Park of Glory) in central Kherson. It's a copy of the flag raised over Berlin's Reichstag and is now an official symbol of the U.S.S.R.'s victory over Nazi Germany.
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
5/16A billboard in Kherson says: “Kherson is Ukraine. Ukraine is Europe."
"The occupiers are deeply disappointed because there is no support for them," says one local farmer. "They are not wanted here. The Kherson region is a deeply pro-Ukrainian territory. They were lucky with Crimea because there really was a large pro-Russian population there. Here, no."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
6/16Russian vehicles move through the streets of occupied Kherson.
"The sense of protection is completely absent," says one city resident. "When a person comes to you with a machine gun, you clearly understand that he can do anything with you."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
7/16An impromptu memorial for children who have died during the war in front of the Palace of Culture in the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region.
"This building is opposite the Russian commandant's office," said one man as he walked by. "They bring toys here so that they can see and remember."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
8/16A pro-Russia TV channel broadcasting the "liberation operation" in occupied Kherson.
"As soon as they entered the city, they drowned out the Ukrainian channels and launched their own. After a while, cable TV and radio stations were turned off. Not a single Ukrainian newspaper is published in Kherson," said a local media expert, who also warned of the dangers of reporting in the occupied territories.
"You know, we used to think that a camera and a microphone were a means of protection," he said. "But now, it is a 'red rag' to the occupiers. Going out and filming something is putting yourself in danger.”
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
9/16Russian troops patrol near the Kherson Regional State Administration.
"All thinking Kherson residents are for Ukraine, of course," one local resident told RFE/RL. "But now there is some uncertainty -- and this gives rise to fear. You don't know what will happen tomorrow."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
10/16Volunteers from occupied Kherson prepare and distribute Easter cakes for residents of nearby settlements who are under heavy shelling.
According to one local volunteer, the occupiers have "artificially created a humanitarian catastrophe in Kherson in order to import goods from Crimea. They do not allow any humanitarian convoys from Ukraine to pass through. All of this is delivered by volunteers at their own risk."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
12/16Medicines are prepared for delivery in occupied Kherson.
"It is very difficult to supply medicines to the Kherson region now," says Iryna, a local volunteer. "The invaders do not give us 'green corridors.' Drivers who carry medical supplies often disappear. They take away their phones, cars, and the medicines themselves."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
13/16A rescue worker in occupied Nova Kakhovka walks toward the State Emergency building where a Russian flag now flies.
While some rescue workers left when the occupation began, others remained to assist their fellow citizens. "As for the fact that the government abandoned Kherson, this is just an insult," said a local volunteer. "There is no feeling yet that we will be liberated."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
14/16People attend a church service in occupied Kherson.
"We pray. We do our jobs. Of course, we want Ukraine to be here," said a local clergymen. "I also have a family. They also cry. But I try to avoid politics."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
15/16A Russian checkpoint in occupied Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region.
According to Kherson Mayor Ihor Kolykhayev, more than 40 percent of residents have left the city, including more than 3,000 children. In a Facebook post on April 16, Ukraine's ombudswoman for human rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, said that Russia intends to hold a "referendum" to create a "People's Republic of Kherson."
According to the Denisova, Russian troops intend to turn off all communications in Kherson and to stop anyone entering or exiting the city between May 1 and May 10. The vote they reportedly plan to stage mirrors what occurred in the occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions in 2014.
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
16/16An inscription on the asphalt: "Kherson is Ukraine."
Kherson is the only Ukrainian provincial capital to have fallen during Moscow's invasion of its western neighbor. Earlier this month, RFE/RL reporter Viktoria Roshchyna traveled undercover to the city and nearby settlements to speak with people who are living under Russian occupation and to discuss the problems they face.
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He adds, however, that given the condition the body was in when it was returned, "it will be extremely difficult to establish the cause using forensic medical examinations, " making it even more important to establish the facts around Roshchyna's disappearance and incarceration to pursue those responsible.
"All these circumstances are currently being clarified. And all those people who were involved in this, they are all clearly in the focus of our attention. Therefore, in fact, our task is to identify them and try to bring them to justice either in absentia or in person, if they fall into our hands or into the hands of our colleagues abroad," Belousov said.
Roshchyna's case highlights the dangers faced by journalists reporting in war zones.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), some 29 Ukrainian journalists were in Russian detention as of June, "some for nearly a decade, often held thousands of kilometers from their families and subjected to inhumane treatment."
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has seen its audience grow significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and is among the most cited media outlets in the country. Its bold, in-depth reporting from the front lines has won many accolades and awards. Its comprehensive coverage also includes award-winning reporting by the Donbas.Realities and Crimea.Realities projects and the Schemes investigative unit.
