Russia has not returned the body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna to her homeland, despite promising to do so, according to a rights group.
Roshchyna died while in Russian captivity.
Petro Yatsenko from Ukraine’s Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Roshchyna’s body was to be repatriated on October 18 as part of a broader exchange of bodies, according to a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry that was received by Roshchyna’s father.
It remains unclear why Roshchyna’s body was not included in the October 18 exchange.
Yatsenko noted that “everything, unfortunately, depends on the opposite side,” emphasizing that efforts to repatriate the journalist began immediately after her death on September 19 was confirmed earlier this month.
Ukrainian authorities and Roshchyna’s family say they are awaiting further developments.
Roshchyna, 27, was a former freelance correspondent for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. She had been covering Russia's full-scale invasion since its onset in February 2022.
In August 2023, she was detained by Russian troops in the occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region.
In early October, reports surfaced that Roshchyna had died while being transferred from a detention center in Taganrog, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, to Moscow.
The journalist's death was officially confirmed on October 10.
Andriy Yusov of Ukraine's Military Intelligence confirmed at the time that Roshchyna had been slated for a prisoner exchange. Recent updates of the plan showed she was being transferred from Taganrog to Moscow's Lefortovo detention center in preparation for her release.
Human rights organizations have criticized Russia’s treatment of detainees, particularly during the process of transferring them from one penitentiary to another, which is known as “etap.” Prisoners are transported in caged train compartments with minimal access to food, hygiene, and ventilation. Reports from former detainees have highlighted widespread mistreatment and abuse during these transfers.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office of Ukraine has launched a criminal investigation into Roshchyna’s death, examining it as a potential violation of war laws and intentional murder.
Human rights advocates reported that Roshchyna had been held in solitary confinement in the Taganrog Pretrial Detention Center from May to September 2024, where Ukrainian detainees were reportedly tortured.
Around 25 Ukrainian journalists remain in Russian captivity, including RFE/RL freelancer Vladyslav Yesypenko, who was sentenced to five years in prison on contested espionage charges in 2022.