“They beat everyone very badly, including the women”: Journalist Viktoria Roshchina was transferred to a detention center in the Perm Krai of the Russian Federation shortly before her death
Source: Slidstvo.Info
Authors: Vladyslava Kobko, Maksym Dudchenko, Yaroslava Nikitiuk
Journalist Viktoria Roshchina died in Russian captivity on September 19, 2024. It was previously known that she had been illegally detained in a pretrial detention center in Taganrog. However, journalists from “Slidstvo.Info” learned that eight days before her death, Roshchina was transferred to Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel, Perm Krai. It was in this detention facility that the journalist died—journalists learned from closed Russian databases that her death certificate was issued in Perm.
“Slidstvo.Info” spoke with a soldier released from captivity who had seen Viktoria Roshchina in Kizel and had traveled there with her on the same train. In addition, journalists identified the heads of the detention center who may have been involved in Roshchina’s death.
This is detailed in an investigation by “Slidstvo.Info.”
Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina was taken captive by Russia in August 2023. At that time, she had traveled to report from Russian-occupied territories.
For over a year, her family and loved ones waited for Viktoria to be exchanged and return home. However, in October 2024, her father received a letter from the Russians stating that Viktoria had died in captivity. All this time, she was held in various prisons: in the occupied territories and in Taganrog Pretrial Detention Center No. 2. It was in Taganrog that Viktoria first met soldier Danylo, with whom journalists from “Slidstvo.Info” were able to speak. He was returned to Ukraine during a prisoner exchange in April 2025.
“It was very rare, but sometimes we’d cross paths and exchange a few words. I was in the cell at the very end, and she just peeked through the peephole. I happened to be near the door at that moment, and we spoke briefly. She asked which unit I was from and how long I’d been in captivity. And she said there would be an exchange soon. She’d been told she would be exchanged,” says Danylo.
Danylo
Earlier, “Slidstvo.Info” received testimony from Roshchina’s cellmate at the Taganrog pretrial detention center. She said that Viktoria had been tortured—the journalist’s body had numerous stab wounds that she had sustained while in captivity in Russian-occupied territories.
“During interrogations, the Russians used electric shocks. I saw several scars on her body—definitely on her arm and leg. She had a stab wound—well, a really fresh scar. It was in the soft tissue between her bone and her elbow. And the scar was about three centimeters long,” says the witness.
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In September 2024, the prisoners began to be transported deeper into Russia to Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel, Perm Krai. The distance from Taganrog to this detention center is about 2,500 kilometers. According to soldier Danylo, the Russians organized the transfer of prisoners because the Taganrog detention center was being converted for Russian inmates.
“THE WOMEN HAD THEIR HAIR SHAVED OFF; THEY WERE CRYING”
The transfer took place in several “groups”—Danilo traveled together with Viktoria. The journey took three days: from September 9 to 11. Danilo says that on the train, Viktoria looked haggard and, compared to the last time he saw her, even thinner. However, she was able to walk on her own.
From the train, the prisoners were transferred to police vans, which took them to Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel, Perm Krai, Russian Federation. Soldiers released from Kizel, with whom “Slidstvo.Info” spoke, said that in the detention center they had to undergo a brutal so-called “intake procedure.”
“They beat me nonstop for an hour or two. They’d give me a minute to catch my breath and then start beating me again. I lost consciousness twice during the ‘intake procedure.’ They shaved the women’s heads bald; you could hear them crying,” says Danylo.
“Everyone was beaten very severely, anywhere they could. They could strike you there and simply knock out an organ,” said another soldier released from captivity, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Not everyone was able to endure such “initiation rituals.” Both men testified that a civilian hostage, the 63-year-old mayor of Dniprorudne, Yevgeniy Matveev, died in Kizel as a result of severe beatings.
However, the torture at the Kizel pretrial detention center didn’t end with the “initiation.”
“You stand there in one spot. All day long, you’re confined to an imaginary square where you stand. In other words, moving around the cell is forbidden, and you’re not allowed to sit down. Talking to each other is also forbidden, because the cell sees everything. They might even open the windows. And, excuse me, but in Kizel, it’s very cold there. I mean, I think there’s even snow there in the summer. “I remember one time it was about 30 degrees below zero,” says 22-year-old Danylo Murashkin, who was returned to Ukraine in July 2025 after 3.5 years in captivity.
In the cells of the Kizel pretrial detention center, prisoners were forced to listen all day to Russian music and lectures on a distorted version of Russian and Ukrainian history. Prisoners were allowed to take any action only on command.
“They burned my entire back with a stun gun. That was their favorite toy there. Apparently, they bought them themselves. Once, they beat me with a stun gun so hard that I lost consciousness; then I came to and opened my eyes. I had wounds that started to fester. The swelling was very severe, as was the inflammation,” says Danylo Murashkin.
“HER DEATH OCCURRED AT THE PRE-TRIAL DETENTION CENTER IN THE CITY OF KIZEL”
Journalists from “Slidstvo.Info” managed to obtain information from closed Russian databases regarding Viktoria Roshchina’s death certificate, which was issued by the Leninsky Department of the Civil Registry Office of the Perm City Administration. The date of death recorded in this document is September 19, 2024.
The Office of the Prosecutor General also confirmed to “Slidstvo.Info” that Viktoria died on September 19. It happened right in the pretrial detention center.
“She was held there for less than two weeks, and that is where she died. Specifically, at the pretrial detention center in the city of Kizel. Viktoria’s body was transferred to Ukraine in a condition that did not allow for a full forensic medical examination, the results of which would have provided us with information about the cause of her death,” — says Taras Semkiv, head of the Second Division for Procedural Guidance and Support of Public Prosecution within the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict at the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Journalists managed to obtain a list of employees at Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel from their sources. “Slidstvo.Info” verified the list and found that in September 2024, 39-year-old Vitaliy Spirin was acting as the head of the facility. According to Spirin’s social media accounts, he is married and has two children. In 2023, Spirin earned 1 million 49 thousand Russian rubles at the detention center. That is approximately 450,000 hryvnias.
On November 6, 2024, 40-year-old Vyacheslav Perevozkin replaced Vitaliy Spirin as head of the detention center, a position he still holds today.
“It is obvious that in a place of detention such as Kizel, such actions cannot take place without the director’s knowledge. These are systematic instances of cruel treatment of Ukrainians in places of detention. They are definitely taking place with the connivance and under the instructions of the detention center’s leadership,” says Taras Semkiv, head of a department at the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The deceased, Viktoria Roshchina, may also have been in contact with Yevgeny Trofimov, head of the security department; Konstantin Chekalov, deputy head for personnel and educational work; and Alexey Dorodnov, deputy head for logistics.
All employees of the Kizel pretrial detention center, except for Dorodnov, continue to work there to this day.
Authors: Vladyslava Kobko, Maksym Dudchenko, Yaroslava Nikitiuk
Journalist Viktoria Roshchina died in Russian captivity on September 19, 2024. It was previously known that she had been illegally detained in a pretrial detention center in Taganrog. However, journalists from “Slidstvo.Info” learned that eight days before her death, Roshchina was transferred to Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel, Perm Krai. It was in this detention facility that the journalist died—journalists learned from closed Russian databases that her death certificate was issued in Perm.
“Slidstvo.Info” spoke with a soldier released from captivity who had seen Viktoria Roshchina in Kizel and had traveled there with her on the same train. In addition, journalists identified the heads of the detention center who may have been involved in Roshchina’s death.
This is detailed in an investigation by “Slidstvo.Info.”
Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina was taken captive by Russia in August 2023. At that time, she had traveled to report from Russian-occupied territories.
For over a year, her family and loved ones waited for Viktoria to be exchanged and return home. However, in October 2024, her father received a letter from the Russians stating that Viktoria had died in captivity. All this time, she was held in various prisons: in the occupied territories and in Taganrog Pretrial Detention Center No. 2. It was in Taganrog that Viktoria first met soldier Danylo, with whom journalists from “Slidstvo.Info” were able to speak. He was returned to Ukraine during a prisoner exchange in April 2025.
“It was very rare, but sometimes we’d cross paths and exchange a few words. I was in the cell at the very end, and she just peeked through the peephole. I happened to be near the door at that moment, and we spoke briefly. She asked which unit I was from and how long I’d been in captivity. And she said there would be an exchange soon. She’d been told she would be exchanged,” says Danylo.
Danylo
Earlier, “Slidstvo.Info” received testimony from Roshchina’s cellmate at the Taganrog pretrial detention center. She said that Viktoria had been tortured—the journalist’s body had numerous stab wounds that she had sustained while in captivity in Russian-occupied territories.
“During interrogations, the Russians used electric shocks. I saw several scars on her body—definitely on her arm and leg. She had a stab wound—well, a really fresh scar. It was in the soft tissue between her bone and her elbow. And the scar was about three centimeters long,” says the witness.
If you want to see more investigations into Russian crimes on our website, support our work with a one-time or monthly donation! Sign up for a monthly donation on Monobase!
In September 2024, the prisoners began to be transported deeper into Russia to Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel, Perm Krai. The distance from Taganrog to this detention center is about 2,500 kilometers. According to soldier Danylo, the Russians organized the transfer of prisoners because the Taganrog detention center was being converted for Russian inmates.
“THE WOMEN HAD THEIR HAIR SHAVED OFF; THEY WERE CRYING”
The transfer took place in several “groups”—Danilo traveled together with Viktoria. The journey took three days: from September 9 to 11. Danilo says that on the train, Viktoria looked haggard and, compared to the last time he saw her, even thinner. However, she was able to walk on her own.
From the train, the prisoners were transferred to police vans, which took them to Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel, Perm Krai, Russian Federation. Soldiers released from Kizel, with whom “Slidstvo.Info” spoke, said that in the detention center they had to undergo a brutal so-called “intake procedure.”
“They beat me nonstop for an hour or two. They’d give me a minute to catch my breath and then start beating me again. I lost consciousness twice during the ‘intake procedure.’ They shaved the women’s heads bald; you could hear them crying,” says Danylo.
“Everyone was beaten very severely, anywhere they could. They could strike you there and simply knock out an organ,” said another soldier released from captivity, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Not everyone was able to endure such “initiation rituals.” Both men testified that a civilian hostage, the 63-year-old mayor of Dniprorudne, Yevgeniy Matveev, died in Kizel as a result of severe beatings.
However, the torture at the Kizel pretrial detention center didn’t end with the “initiation.”
“You stand there in one spot. All day long, you’re confined to an imaginary square where you stand. In other words, moving around the cell is forbidden, and you’re not allowed to sit down. Talking to each other is also forbidden, because the cell sees everything. They might even open the windows. And, excuse me, but in Kizel, it’s very cold there. I mean, I think there’s even snow there in the summer. “I remember one time it was about 30 degrees below zero,” says 22-year-old Danylo Murashkin, who was returned to Ukraine in July 2025 after 3.5 years in captivity.
In the cells of the Kizel pretrial detention center, prisoners were forced to listen all day to Russian music and lectures on a distorted version of Russian and Ukrainian history. Prisoners were allowed to take any action only on command.
“They burned my entire back with a stun gun. That was their favorite toy there. Apparently, they bought them themselves. Once, they beat me with a stun gun so hard that I lost consciousness; then I came to and opened my eyes. I had wounds that started to fester. The swelling was very severe, as was the inflammation,” says Danylo Murashkin.
“HER DEATH OCCURRED AT THE PRE-TRIAL DETENTION CENTER IN THE CITY OF KIZEL”
Journalists from “Slidstvo.Info” managed to obtain information from closed Russian databases regarding Viktoria Roshchina’s death certificate, which was issued by the Leninsky Department of the Civil Registry Office of the Perm City Administration. The date of death recorded in this document is September 19, 2024.
The Office of the Prosecutor General also confirmed to “Slidstvo.Info” that Viktoria died on September 19. It happened right in the pretrial detention center.
“She was held there for less than two weeks, and that is where she died. Specifically, at the pretrial detention center in the city of Kizel. Viktoria’s body was transferred to Ukraine in a condition that did not allow for a full forensic medical examination, the results of which would have provided us with information about the cause of her death,” — says Taras Semkiv, head of the Second Division for Procedural Guidance and Support of Public Prosecution within the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict at the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Journalists managed to obtain a list of employees at Pretrial Detention Center No. 3 in the city of Kizel from their sources. “Slidstvo.Info” verified the list and found that in September 2024, 39-year-old Vitaliy Spirin was acting as the head of the facility. According to Spirin’s social media accounts, he is married and has two children. In 2023, Spirin earned 1 million 49 thousand Russian rubles at the detention center. That is approximately 450,000 hryvnias.
On November 6, 2024, 40-year-old Vyacheslav Perevozkin replaced Vitaliy Spirin as head of the detention center, a position he still holds today.
“It is obvious that in a place of detention such as Kizel, such actions cannot take place without the director’s knowledge. These are systematic instances of cruel treatment of Ukrainians in places of detention. They are definitely taking place with the connivance and under the instructions of the detention center’s leadership,” says Taras Semkiv, head of a department at the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The deceased, Viktoria Roshchina, may also have been in contact with Yevgeny Trofimov, head of the security department; Konstantin Chekalov, deputy head for personnel and educational work; and Alexey Dorodnov, deputy head for logistics.
All employees of the Kizel pretrial detention center, except for Dorodnov, continue to work there to this day.
This is an automatic translation generated by DeepL.