The European Union plans to impose sanctions against Russian security officers, judges, and investigators responsible for the death of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna and political repression, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty project Systema reported in a Telegram post.
The planned list of sanctioned persons includes the officials and employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FPS) in Rostov region involved in Roshchyna’s torture and death in the Taganrog PTDC No. 2, as well as judges and investigators involved in politically motivated persecution of journalists and activists.
In particular, the list includes:
- Andrei Poliakov, chief of the Rostov region FPS department under whose leadership Ukrainian prisoners were tortured, beaten, and deprived of medical care. According to the EU, Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna died in September 2024 after being tortured in PTDC No. 2, which is subject to Polyakov;
- Andrei Mykhailichenko, deputy chief of security and operations at PTDC No. 2;
- Andrei Sapitski, deputy chief of personnel;
- Oleksandr Shtodu, PTDC No. 2 director.
According to investigators, the EU believes them all to be responsible for the torture, ill-treatment, and death of at least 15 Ukrainian prisoners. The journalistic investigations into the torture of inmates in Taganrog PTDC No. 2 state the same, citing sources in Ukrainian intelligence.
The sanctions were agreed by EU ambassadors on 12 November and are expected to be officially approved at a EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 20 November.
Viktoria Roshchyna’s death
In August 2025, the National Police of Ukraine issued a suspicion notice in absentia to the director of the Taganrog PTDC No.2 (Rostov region, Russia), who orchestrated the torture of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna.
The death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna in Russian prison was reported on 10 October 2024. According to the letter sent to her family by Russia’s Ministry of Defense on 10 October, Victoria died on 19 September. Viktoria Roshchyna’s name was on the swap lists.
It was reported on 24 April that the body of Viktoria Roshchyna had been brought back to Ukraine in late February this year. She was identified through DNA testing.
The autopsy failed to identify the causes of Viktoria Roshchyna’s death due to the body’s state. However, numerous signs of torture were found on Viktoria’s body.
An investigation by Project Viktoria revealed that Viktoria Roshchyna’s body was listed in the documents as an “unidentified male” when Russia handed it over to Ukraine and had a single label of unclear meaning: SPAS. The examination found that some internal organs were missing from the body. In particular, the brain, eyeballs, and part of the trachea.
Slidstvo.Info discovered that Victoria Roshchyna was brutally tortured in Russian custody: there were stab wounds on her body, the journalist weighed under 30 kilograms, and Russian prison officers hid her from inspections.