Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, in the Taganrog pre-trial detention center, constantly insisted on being brought to see a psychologist. After another refusal from guards, she tried to cut her wrists.
This was told to Investigation.Info by former prisoner of war "Brytva", who for some time was in a cell next to Roshchyna.
"Roshchyna was beaten quite hard. According to the Russians, she behaved badly, was noisy. They needed everyone to sit quietly and not open their mouths. And she asked for a psychologist, then to change books. She constantly asked to see the operational staff," says the exiled person.
According to “Brytva”, in the Taganrog pre-trial detention center, Viktoria Roshchyna was repeatedly sent to a punishment cell — an isolated solitary cell — for "misbehavior".
"There are systematic beatings in the punishment cell. There is a small cell, in the morning you take out the mattress, they fasten the bed and thatʼs it. You either walk or sit on the floor," the man claims.
During one of the morning checks, Roshchyna once again asked to be brought to her by a psychologist. The guards were outraged by this request.
"And the girl starts hysterical. And they [guards] yell at her: ʼGo to the cell! Donʼt get us nervous!ʼ And she goes into the cell. We hear screams. As I understand it, she tore off the plastic ceiling and cut her veins. But not much, she just ruined her skin. The doctors came running," recalls “Brytva”.
The capture and death of Viktoria Roshchyna
Viktoria 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 report. After August 3, Victoria did not get in touch. 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 Roshchynaʼs return home, and she was due 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 Criminal Code — violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.
Roshchynaʼs body was returned to Ukraine in late February 2025. It 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.
The international organization Forbidden Stories found out that the journalistʼs body was returned without some internal organs. Presumably, they wanted to hide the cause of her death. Later, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office reported that they found numerous injuries on the journalistʼs body — bone fractures, hemorrhages in various parts of the body, a broken rib.
On August 8, they said goodbye to the journalist in Kyiv.
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