The occipital bone of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna was broken by Russian prison staff while she was detained in the Taganrog PTDC No. 2 (Russia), reported Dmytro Shevchuk, chief of Unit No. 1 (Investigation of Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict) at the National Police’s Central Investigation Office, during a meeting of the temporary commission for investigating Russia’s crimes against the media on 26 May 2026.
“We discovered this during the forensic medical examinations,” Shevchuk added.
He said that Viktoria had been facing systematic violence by Russian forces because she demanded decent conditions of detention, including normal meals, and refused to sing the Russian anthem.
She was detained in cell No. 124 in unsanitary conditions. There was no hot water, only three minutes were allotted for the meals, and this included washing the dishes. Prisoners were forbidden to sit or lie down from the morning until the end of the day.
“Breaking these rules resulted in beatings and other cruel treatment,” stressed Dmytro Shevchuk.
He added that as the journalist was moved from PTDC No. in Kyzel (Russia) she was in critical condition and constantly needed medical care.
“Yet despite this, the prison administration continued to use physical and psychological violence, as well as detention in life-threatening conditions,” said Dmytro Shevchuk.
During the pre-trial investigation, Ukrainian police found that the director of the pre-trial detention center knew that the journalist was detained in the institution in a very serious health condition. According to Shevchuk, the director continued to arrange conditions that made her state worse.
According to the police, Viktoria Roshchyna died on 19 September 2024, a week after arriving at the PTDC. The cause was the continuous abuse she had suffered in Russian custody.
Viktoria Roshchyna’s death
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 prisoner swap lists.
It was reported on 24 April 2025 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.
