Forensics still verifying identity and establishing cause of death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna after recieving her body

The Prosecutor General's Office has reported that the Russians returned the body of the deceased journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna to Ukraine on 25 February as part of an exchange. The cause of her death has not yet been established, and the examination is ongoing.

Source: Yurii Bielousov, Head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict at the Office of the Prosecutor General; Sevgil Musaieva, Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda

Details: Law enforcement officials reported that on 25 February 2025, several dozen bodies were delivered to the city of Vinnytsia as a result of the exchange. A tag with the name Roshchyna was found on one of them. During the examination, it was found that the body was hers.

Bielousov added that DNA samples had also been taken from Viktoriia's parents. The expert examination had concluded with a probability of over 99% that the body was Viktoriia's.

Bielousov said it had not been possible to establish the cause of death due to the condition of the body.

Quote from Bielousov: "Due to the condition of the body, changes and mummification, according to the results of the forensic examination, it was not possible to establish the cause of death. Therefore, samples were taken and the issue is currently being resolved with the involvement of French experts to conduct an additional forensic examination to determine the cause of death."

Read some of Viktoriia Roshchyna's writing for Ukrainska Pravda here

Details: Bielousov said Roshchyna's body showed numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment. In particular, there were abrasions and haemorrhages on various parts of the body and a broken rib.

The experts also saw possible signs of electric shock. This information will be clarified during an additional forensic examination involving international experts.

The editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, Sevgil Musaieva, said that the return of Roshchyna's body to Ukraine had been known to her, but the family had insisted on additional examinations.

Quote from Musaieva: "We were aware that as part of repatriation measures, a body was returned to Ukraine and the preliminary examination had established a match with the DNA of freelance UP journalist Viktoria Roshchyna. However, since the family insisted on additional international examinations, we did not disclose this information."

Background: 

• Viktoriia Roshchyna left Ukraine for Poland on 25 July 2023 to travel to the occupied territory. She planned to reach the occupied part of Ukraine's east via Russia in three days.
• Roshchyna disappeared on 3 August 2023 in the TOT from where she was reporting.
• Russia admitted for the first time in May 2024 that they had detained Roshchyna. The Russian Ministry of Defence sent a letter of confirmation to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn.
• On 10 October 2024, Petro Yatsenko, the head of the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, confirmed on the 24/7 national joint newscast that Viktoriia Roshchyna had died in Russian custody. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said she had been due to be brought back to Ukraine in the near future.
• On 11 October, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that the criminal proceedings initiated into Roshchyna's disappearance had been reclassified as a war crime combined with premeditated murder.
• Investigators from Slidstvo.Info found that Viktoriia Roshchyna was brutally tortured in Russian captivity. She had stab wounds on her body and had been electrocuted, and staff at the Russian penal colony where she was held hid her away when inspections were carried out.

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