The video report containing this statistic was made up; the Institute for the Study of War has not published such findings.
Pro-Russian sources are rapidly disseminating information, purportedly from the Institute for the Study of War, claiming that 20% of Ukrainian men die during mobilization. They attribute this high death rate to the coercive nature of the mobilization, with Territorial Recruitment Centers allegedly forced to use coercion due to widespread citizen resistance.
However, this information is not true. To verify this claim, we checked the website and social media channels of the Institute for the Study of War, a research organization that compiles and analyzes current information on military conflicts and security threats. The Institute has not posted a video on this topic, nor does it post video content on any of its communication channels.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, there have been a few recorded cases of deaths among mobilized men. In the early summer of 2024, TSN reported seven such cases. Thus, while no official statistics are available, there is no evidence for the alleged 20% death rate. Furthermore, in the reported cases, the deaths were not due to violence, and no signs of physical trauma were found on the bodies, contrary to the claims made in the propaganda video. Most deaths were reportedly due to causes such as epilepsy, heart attacks, or alcohol intoxication.
We recently debunked another piece of disinformation, also spread by Russian propagandists and falsely attributed to the Institute for the Study of War: Fake: 60% of Foreign Fighters in Ukraine’s Armed Forces Return Home Disabled.
