Body of Ukrainian journalist kidnapped by Russia returned with eyes, brain removed, likely to hide signs of torture: report

The body of a Ukrainian journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Russians was returned to her home country with her eyes and brain missing, likely to obscure the torture she suffered, according to an investigation.

Victoria Roshchyna’s brain, eyes, and trachea had been removed before her body was sent back to Ukraine in February, two and a half years after she went missing in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories in August 2023, a report found.

Victoria Roshchyna’s remains were repatriated in February. Facebook

Roshchyna’s body was labeled as an “unidentified male” when it was handed over, during an exchange of 757 Ukrainians’ remains.

Her body was much smaller and lighter than the others, according to the report.

The gruesome treatment of the body could have been done to hide how badly she was tortured in Russian captivity, the report from Forbidden Stories published on Tuesday claimed.

Roshchyna was reportedly missing organs when Ukraine took custody of the remains. AFP via Getty Images

Still, the body showed obvious signs of torture including abrasions, hemorrhages, a broken rib and possible evidence of electric shocks, the head of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office’s war crimes department, Yuriy Belousov, told Pravda.