Fact Check: Indian Army Chief Did Not Admit to 250 Soldier Deaths in Operation Sindoor, Viral Video Is Deepfake
General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM AVSM (born 1 July 1964), is a serving four-star general officer of the Indian Army. He is
Claim :
Viral video shows the Indian Army Chief admitting that over 250 Indian soldiers were lost in Operation Sindoor.Fact :
Viral video has been digitally manipulated; no such statement was made by the Indian Army Chief.
General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM AVSM (born 1 July 1964), is a serving four-star general officer of the Indian Army. He is the current and 30th Chief of the Army Staff. He took over as the 30th COAS, succeeding General Manoj Pande on 30 June 2024. He was previously serving as the 46th Vice Chief of Army Staff. The Indian Army Chief, General Upendra Dwivedi, announced a sweeping modernization programme during Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorations at Drass. He unveiled three advanced combat formations that will reshape the force’s operational doctrine for the coming decades.
A video of General Upendra Dwivedi is in circulation with the claim that he admitted that more than 250 Indian soldiers were lost during Operation Sindoor and alleged that Pakistan tracked Indian Army movements by using Chinese satellites. Several X users shared the viral video with the caption, “Breaking. Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi admits to losing more than 250 soldiers in war against Pakistan. Pakistan was aware of our every single movement due to Chinese satellites.” In the viral video, the Indian Army General starts talking about the Kargil victory and then talks about Operation Sindoor and how India lost 250 Indian soldiers and Pakistan used Chinese technology to keep updated on Indian Army movements.
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The viral video is digitally manipulated.
At first, we noticed the logo of Indian Express on the top right corner of the video. We searched with the keywords ‘General Upendra Dwivedi + Indian Express’ and found a recent video published by the YouTube channel of Indian Express on July 26, 2025, with the title: “New Normal, No Mercy”: Indian Army Chief Warns Pakistan After Op Sindoor | Kargil Vijay Diwas |
The description of the video states, “On Kargil Vijay Diwas 2025, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi delivered a strong message to Pakistan, stating that Operation Sindoor’s surgical strikes were a clear warning that terrorism and its backers will not be spared. Speaking at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, Gen Dwivedi called the strikes a direct response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which he described as a deep national wound. He emphasized that India has shifted from mourning to delivering decisive retaliation. The strikes mark a 'new normal' in India's national security doctrine, signaling zero tolerance for terrorism.”
At 1.12 minutes of this video, we can see General Upendra Dwivedi talking about the Kargil war under Operation Vijay and how the Indian Army was able to push Pakistani soldiers away from the border. Taking the tradition forward, during Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army targeted Pakistani infrastructure and succeeded. Even though we wanted peace, they displayed cowardice. The cowardly terror attack in Pahalgam was a wound for the whole country. India not only grieved this time but decided to respond strongly.
Nowhere in the video does he mention any casualties in the Indian Army during Operation Sindoor.
Another YouTube video published by ‘The Print’ on July 26, 2025, shows the General’s address; the viral part starts from 2.55 minutes. Nowhere in the video does he talk about soldiers dying during Operation Sindoor.
We also found an X post by PIB Fact Check dated 29 July 2025 that debunked the viral video. The post states that a manipulated video is being circulated online, falsely showing Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi admitting to losing over 250 soldiers in a war with Pakistan. PIB clarified that this is an AI-generated deepfake video and that General Dwivedi has made no such statement.
Hence, the viral video is a digitally manipulated one; the claim that the Indian Army General stated that 250 Indian soldiers died during Operation Sindoor is False.
