Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was captured in the summer of 2023 near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Southern Ukraine.
In April 2024, Russia officially admitted that Roshchyna was being held captive. Few months later, in October of the same year, Roshchyna’s family received a letter from Russian authorities informing them of her death but providing no details or circumstances about it.
This is when Forbidden Stories journalism network launched an investigation into her death.
This February, Moscow handed over the bodies of 757 Ukrainians to Kyiv. Roshchyna’s body was among them, but wrongly recorded in Russian documents as an “unidentified male” with the number “757” and a marking “SPAS” in Russian (СПАС) — an acronym for heart failure.
During an initial examination, pathologists determined that the body belonged to a woman. An investigation conducted by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has revealed a 99% DNA match with Roshchyna.
Investigation into Viktoriia’s death
The condition of the body made it impossible to establish the cause of death through the forensic examination, the head of the War Department at the Prosecutor General’s Office Yurii Bielousov said.
However, “bodily injuries were inflicted during her lifetime, therefore, there is a high probability that she was exposed to torture,” he added.
Yurii Bielousov stated that numerous signs of abuse and cruel treatment have been found on Roshchyna’s body, particularly abrasions and bruises on various parts and a broken rib. Experts also noted possible indications of electric shock being used.
The further investigation stated that her body showed evidence of an autopsy conducted in Russia before it was returned to Ukraine.
During the examination in Ukraine, it turned out that several organs were missing, including Roshchyna’s brain, eyes, and part of the trachea.
Investigators say that a bruise was found on Roshchyna’s neck, along with a suspected fracture of the hyoid bone, a common indicator of strangulation. However, the overall condition of the journalist’s body has made it impossible to determine the exact cause of death.
The Russian abbreviation “SPAS” found on her body is said to stand for “total failure of the arteries of the heart,” a designation that may have been used by Russian authorities to fabricate an official cause of death.
