Journalist was tortured and had her organs removed in Russian captivity, report says

A Ukrainian journalist was tortured, killed and had her organs removed before her body was returned by her Russian captors, according to a new report.

A Ukrainian journalist was tortured and killed and had her organs removed before her body was returned by her Russian captors, according to a new report by media organizations into her death.

Viktoriia Roshchyna, 27, was captured in 2023 after she traveled to the Russian-occupied region of Zaporizhzhia in eastern Ukraine to report on the illegal detention and torture of Ukrainians by Russian forces, according to the joint media report published Tuesday by the nonprofit media organization Forbidden Stories and 12 news outlets.

A forensic examination of her body revealed numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment, Yuriy Belousov, the head of the War Crimes Unit at the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office said last week. These included “abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib, neck injuries, and possible electric shock marks on her feet,” he said.

He added that there were signs that an autopsy had been performed before the body was returned to Ukraine. The missing organs, he said, could signal that Russia attempted to hide the cause of death, possibly to conceal that it had committed a war crime.

NBC News could not independently verify the allegations in the report and has contacted Russia's Ministry of Defense, the FSB security service and the country's Federal Penitentiary Service for comment.