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The death of Viktoriia Roshchyna, the 27-year-old Ukrainian investigative journalist, is as straightforward as it is horrific.
Russia disappeared her. Russia tortured her. Russia then returned her mutilated body to Ukraine.
The details of the case only add to the horror.
In August 2023, Roshchyna went missing in the Russian-occupied part of the Zaporizka region of Ukraine. No one heard from her until a year later, in August 2024, when she called her parents from Russian custody.
It was the one and only time they heard from their daughter after her disappearance.
In October 2024, her parents received a three-line communication from Russian authorities. It said their daughter had died a month earlier. There was no information about the circumstances of her death.
Then, just a few days ago, the grisly particulars finally began to emerge.
Last week, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office reported Roshchyna’s body had been identified among those of Ukrainian servicemen returned to Ukraine in February. A body bag labeled “unknown male” contained a severely emaciated female body. A tag attached to the leg had the name “Roshchyna.” DNA analysis confirmed with 99% certainty it was her.
A forensic examination found numerous signs consistent with torture. There was bruising, a broken rib, and “possible signs of electrocution.”
An investigation by Ukrainian and international media uncovered further details. It found Roshchyna had been detained for four months in the Russia-occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. There, she was held incommunicado and tortured with electric shocks.
She was then transferred to a detention facility in Taganrog, Russia. The place is notorious for torturing both Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees. It’s known as “hell on earth.”
Russia’s vile treatment of Viktoriia Roshchyna is appallingly typical behavior for Russian forces.
Human Rights Watch and other groups have extensively documented enforced disappearances and torture by Russian forces in Ukraine. We’ve also catalogued how Russia has unlawfully transferred detainees to facilities inside Russia, where they were tortured.
In March, a United Nations investigation concluded Russian authorities’ use of torture and enforced disappearances amount to crimes against humanity. They called it “part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population and pursuant to a coordinated state policy.”
Today, much of the talk around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is focused on the possibility of negotiations to pause, perhaps even end, the war.
But as these events unfold, the world needs to make sure at least two things aren’t forgotten.
First, there should never be any kind of amnesty for grave crimes, like torture. Ceasefire or no ceasefire, peace deal or no peace deal, the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
Second, any talks should prioritize the immediate release of thousands of Ukrainian civilians unlawfully held by Russia.
As long as they remain in Russian detention, they face torture. Russia’s barbaric treatment of Viktoriia Roshchyna and many others makes that all too clear.
