Nearly six months after the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk Oblast, Yunous-bek Evkurov, Deputy Minister of Defense, was sent there by the Russian president to resolve the conflict. Who is this close friend of Vladimir Putin known for having “nearly started a third world war”?
On January 5, Younous-bek Evkourov, Deputy Minister of Defense, was sent to the Kursk region, a border region between Russia and Ukraine hit hard by the war, by the Russian president to resolve the problems in the region. He is a loyal follower of the President of the Russian Federation and his reputation precedes him for “nearly starting a third world war.”
A distinguished soldier
Born in 1963 into a Muslim family, Younous-bek Evkourov joined the Soviet army in the early 1980s, the dawn of a brilliant military career. In 1999, he led a special operation to secure Pristina International Airport to ensure a Russian presence in Kosovo following NATO bombings in the former Yugoslavia. On this occasion, the tone rose between Americans and Russians to the point that the British (among whom was the now singer James Blunt) had to act as intermediaries. While American commander Wesley Clark, future presidential candidate, demanded a departure from the Russians, his British counterpart reportedly refused to join in, retorting: “I’m not going to start a Third World War for you.” The Russians finally withdrew peacefully. A clash which makes Younous-bek Evkourov one of the rare Russian officers to have found himself in direct conflict with NATO soldiers.
The following year, during the Second Chechen War, he participated in the release of twelve Russian soldiers imprisoned in a house. During the infiltration of the premises, the Russians were however caught behind by Chechen reinforcements. Yunous-bek Evkourov is injured there while transporting a soldier to safety. An act which earned him on April 13, 2000 the Hero of Russia award, the highest honorary title in the country, for his courage. In 2004 he was appointed deputy head of the Intelligence Directorate of the Volga-Ural Military District.
Entry into politics
In the little papers of Dmitri Medvedev, then President of Russia, he was placed at the head of Ingushetia, a federal republic located in the southwest of the country in 2008. A decision welcomed by the majority of the local population, but which still earned an assassination attempt during a bomb attack in Nazran on June 22, 2009. Not frightened, however, after two weeks in a coma he threatened to kill, during a press conference, “those who refuse to lay down their arms”. He will remain governor of the region until Vladimir Putin names him deputy defense minister in 2019.
Specializing in combat training of troops, he often acted as a crisis manager for the Russian president. This was the case during the Wagner rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Yunous-bek Evkurov then went, accompanied by the deputy chief of the general staff, Vladimir Alekseyev, to Rostov-on-Don to begin negotiations with the leader of the mercenaries and put an end to the march of this last.
Since then, Younous-bek Evkourov has been seen in several African capitals, before finally being called to Kursk last weekend. A trip which follows his recent promotion to the rank of four-star general, the highest rank in the Russian army. A distinction which leaves little doubt as to his place as Vladimir Putin’s new strongman.
