After months without contact, a 27-year-old journalist’s body was returned to Ukraine by Russia—missing vital organs and showing signs of brutal mistreatment, according to multiple reports.
Yuriy Belousov, who leads the war crimes unit at Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, revealed that the forensic team uncovered “numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment,” including “abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib and possible traces of electric shock.”
He said the injuries appeared to have happened while Roshchyna was still alive.
“Vika was always where the most important events for the country took place. And she would have continued to do this for many years, but the Russians killed her,” shared journalist Evgeniya Motorevskaya, who once worked alongside Roshchyna at Hromadske, in a heartfelt tribute.
Roshchyna was respected for her bold journalism in Russian-controlled areas, where few dared to go. She was working with Ukrainska Pravda and Radio Free Europe and had gone to Zaporizhzhia to report on the detention and torture of Ukrainian civilians. She disappeared not long after crossing into the region.
But by then, it was already too late.
Now, a team of journalists from around the world—including those from Forbidden Stories—has teamed up with Ukrainian media to piece together the truth about her final moments.
Motorevskaya, reflecting on her colleague’s dedication to journalism, stated: “For her, there was nothing more important than journalism. Vika was always where the most important events for the country took place. And she would have continued to do this for many years, but the Russians killed her.”
“The issue of civilian hostages abducted and held by Russia requires increased international attention and immediate and strong response,” wrote foreign ministry spokesperson Georgiy Tykhy on X.
Roshchyna is the first confirmed Ukrainian journalist to die in Russian captivity.
“If it weren’t for me, I think [Putin] want to take over the whole country [Ukraine],” Trump said. “I will tell you, I was not happy when I saw Putin shooting missiles into a few towns and cities.”
“This is Sleepy Joe Biden’s War, not mine,” he added. “It was a loser from day one, and should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time. I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is.”
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”