Russia has returned the body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in captivity, without some of her internal organs. Presumably, this was done to hide the cause of her death.
This is stated in a material by the international organization Forbidden Stories, which continues to investigate dead or persecuted media professionals.
Roshchyna’s death was investigated by 45 journalists from 13 international media outlets, who conducted more than 50 interviews with victims of the Kremlin’s prison system, including former prisoners and their relatives, former prison guards, and human rights activists.
The article says that Victoriaʼs body was marked with the number 757. The Russian documents stated that it was an "unidentified male". The Russians also left an unknown mark — SPAS. The abbreviation may mean the official cause of death according to Russia — "total damage to the arteries of the heart".
The investigative team confirmed that the body was brought to Ukraine with signs of an autopsy performed in the Russian Federation. According to journalistsʼ sources in law enforcement agencies, Victoria was missing parts of the brain, eyeballs, and larynx.
The expert pathologist believes that the lack of these organs may hide the true cause of the journalistʼs death — strangulation or suffocation. These actions by Moscow could qualify as a war crime.
The capture and death of Victoria Roshchina
Viktoriya Roshchyna was first captured by the Russians in March 2022. She was traveling from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol, but ended up in occupied Berdyansk, where she was held for 10 days. There, the journalist was forced to record a video saying that she did not blame Russia.
A year later, on August 3, 2023, Roshchyna disappeared in the temporarily occupied territories from where she was supposed to be reporting. After August 3, Victoria did not make any contact. In May 2024, Russia confirmed that it was again holding her captive.
On October 10, it became known that Roshchyna died during a transfer from Taganrog to Moscow. The cause of her death and when it happened were not reported.
The GUR representative Andriy Yusov told Babel that Ukraine already had agreements on Roshchinaʼs return home and she was supposed to return to Ukraine in the near future.
On October 11, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office further qualified the criminal proceedings opened into her disappearance, adding Part 2 of Article 438 of the countryʼs Criminal Code — violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.
Roshchynaʼs body was returned to Ukraine at the end of February 2025. She was identified using DNA testing. According to the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the journalistʼs body. Due to the condition of the body, it was not possible to determine the cause of death.
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