A Ukrainian teacher set out to visit her parents in Russian-occupied Crimea. She never made it there — and died in Russian custody.

Oleksandra Kazarovytska, a Ukrainian teacher from Kharkiv, died in Russian custody after travelling to renew her Russian documents. An investigation corrected early reports that she had died in Crimea: she died in Vladikavkaz, and her body was later taken to Sevastopol for burial. The case has drawn attention to the risks faced by Ukrainians travelling to Russian-controlled territory to see family.

Friends say Kazarovytska was detained after officials found a chat on her phone with a wartime volunteer, and that she spent three months in solitary confinement. Russian authorities say she died by suicide on 24 October; her family and friends dispute that account, while the exact place and circumstances of her detention remain unclear. She was buried on 3 November, and Ukrainian rights group Zmina cited another case involving a Ukrainian citizen detained while travelling to Crimea.