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“103 murders in just one «Skala» regiment. In just one regiment, 103 people were killed. Beaten to death, strangled, buried alive, shot while trying to escape torture. Have you read about this anywhere in the Western press? Or perhaps it was discussed in the European”
Published
A viral post claims 103 people were murdered in Ukraine's Skala regiment through beatings, strangulation, burial alive, and shootings. The documented toll is far lower — 26 to 31 noncombat deaths — and the specific torture methods described are not supported by available evidence, though allegations of abuse and beatings have been reported.
The post by Anatolij Sharij asserts that 103 people were killed in a single Ukrainian regiment called "Skala," listing specific methods: beaten to death, strangled, buried alive, and shot while trying to escape torture. The underlying story — deaths and alleged abuse in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment — is real and has been documented by multiple outlets, but the numbers and methods in the claim do not match the evidence.
The original investigation was published by the Ukrainian outlet Babel on June 23, 2026. Babel's correspondent spent nearly two months examining the issue and counted 26 deaths in Skala training centers over six months, from late 2025 to spring 2026. Most of the deceased had been in the regiment for less than a month, and official causes of death were overwhelmingly listed as pneumonia, cardiovascular failure, or other illnesses. A follow-up by Babel, reported by SFG Media on July 7, 2026, identified at least seven additional deaths after the initial publication, bringing the documented total to 31 cases. This is well short of the 103 figure in the claim.
The specific methods described in the post — strangulation, burial alive, and shooting while escaping torture — are not corroborated by the available reporting. Babel's investigation documented allegations of beatings, confinement, and humiliating punishments as a systematic disciplinary practice, and relatives reported visible signs of beatings on some bodies. However, the documented causes of death were medical (pneumonia, cardiac failure, etc.), with only some cases showing physical trauma. No evidence in the reviewed sources supports claims of strangulation, live burial, or execution-style shootings of recruits.
The story has received significant Western and European media coverage, contrary to the post's implication that it has been ignored. Meduza published a detailed feature on June 26, 2026, the Kyiv Independent reported on it the same week, and Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation opened a pretrial inquiry. The regiment's commander was suspended, and Ukraine's military ombudsman became involved. The claim's core narrative — that deaths and abuse occurred in Skala — has a factual basis, but the 103 figure and the specific torture methods are not supported by the evidence reviewed.
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4 reviewed sources behind this verdict.
Provides the updated total of 31 documented deaths, showing the claim's 103 figure is inflated.
Independent Western media coverage confirming the investigation and the 26-death figure from Babel.
Additional independent reporting on the 26 noncombat deaths and the official investigation.
The original Babel investigation documenting 26 deaths and describing the conditions and alleged abuse in the regiment.