Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has released statistics on recent deaths in the army, including suicides and murders.
Modern.az reports that the minister spoke about this during a briefing with journalists in parliament, answering a question about the reasons for the recent increase in suicides and murders in the army.
Papikyan stated that he finds it difficult to assess the specific reason for the intensification of such cases in a short period:
“As for the intensity, I cannot assess the reason for such high density in such a short period. However, the accusation of the Minister of Defense in these deaths is a new phenomenon for Armenia. Of course, I have not been a supporter of a statistical approach to this issue. But the life and general history of the army also contain certain statistical indicators. Throughout the entire history of the Armenian army, there have been cases of suicide, murder, and non-statutory relations. These indicators sometimes increased and sometimes decreased. For example, as a result of the work we carried out in 2025, this figure decreased to at least 2.”
The Armenian Defense Minister then released annual statistics on suicides, murders, and attempted suicides recorded in the army from 2015 to 2026:
"In 2015, 7 such cases were recorded in the army. In 2016, this figure sharply increased to 19. According to the statistics presented by Papikyan, 13 cases were recorded in 2017, 12 in 2018, 11 in 2019, 10 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 9 in 2023, 11 in 2024, 2 in 2025, and 8 in 2026. The statistics of the last decade show that these figures both increased and decreased over the years. Of course, there are various reasons for this. Some cases are the result of non-statutory relations, and some are the result of criminal subculture. This is a problem not only of today but also of yesterday.
This is a challenge that does not concern only me. Whether I will be the Minister of Defense or someone else - it doesn't matter, this problem requires a systematic approach. I should not be ashamed that you bring this issue to the agenda. On the contrary, we must fight this problem - both you and I.”
