Nearly a third of Ukraine's military losses over the past two years were non-battle casualties, according to the country's Defense Ministry figures cited by news reports.
In total, 2,027 servicemen deaths have been recorded in 2014-2015 so far, according to the Defense Ministry report released Wednesday. Among them, 597 were non-battle casualties, the ministry said, Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported Wednesday.
The leading causes of non-battle deaths included suicide, with 171 cases, and road accidents, with 112, the report said.
Another 87 deaths were attributed to soldiers neglecting safety guidelines, including 66 cases of careless handling of weapons and munitions, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
There were 64 soldiers killed by fellow servicemen, and 26 soldiers killed by civilians, as well as 39 cases of accidental poisoning and 33 drownings, the report said.
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