Nephew of Sergei Shoigu’s right-hand man at Russia’s Defense Ministry is killed by Ukrainian forces: paratrooper commander becomes first relative of senior Putin official who dies during invasion
- The nephew of Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Defense Minister of Russia who was killed in the war
- Captain Adam Khamchoyev, 30, a paratrooper commander, died Friday
- His uncle, Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, 58, Russia’s hard-line deputy defense minister under Shoigu, attended the funeral in plain clothes
The nephew of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s right-hand man was killed by Ukrainian forces during the war.
Captain Adam Khamkhoyev, 30, a paratrooper commander, was killed in Ukraine on Friday night and later buried in southern Russia’s Ingushetia province.
His uncle, Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, 58, Russia’s hard-line deputy defense minister under Shoigu, attended the funeral in plain clothes.
Chamkhoev’s death marks the first time a relative of a senior Putin official has died during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Captain Adam Khamkhoyev, 30, a paratrooper commander, was killed in Ukraine on Friday night and later buried in southern Russia’s Ingushetia province
His uncle, Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, 58, Russia’s hard-line deputy defense minister, attended the funeral in plain clothes. Pictured: Yevkurov (left) with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
Locals attended the funeral of Khamkhoev, a Russian paratrooper commander, in Ingushetia on Sunday
Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Russian Deputy Defense Minister
Yevkurov, a senior pro-war advocate in Vladimir Putin’s government, flew to Karabulak, Ingushetia on Sunday to attend his nephew’s funeral. “He offered his condolences, spoke to the elders and the religious part of the community and then flew back to Moscow,” Baza news agency said.
A graduate of the elite Ryazan Airborne Forces School, Hamkhoev was the commander of a Russian air assault squadron and the son of Yevkurov’s sister.
The commander’s body was taken home immediately, in contrast to waiting weeks or months for other grieving relatives.
Yevkurov — himself a career soldier and distinguished paratrooper who received the Honor of the Hero of Russia, the country’s highest award — has not commented on his nephew’s death.
Russia has not provided any information on where or how Khamkhoev died.
Yevkurov is a former governor of Ingushetia and is now one of the deputies of Putin-ally Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister.
Yevkurov, 58, (circled) Russia’s hard-line deputy defense minister, attended the funeral in plain clothes
Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, then head of Ingushetia, meets President Vladimir Putin in 2015
Yevkurov was the subject of an assassination attempt in 2009.
In March, Yevkurov was seen visiting a bedridden soldier in hospital.
The soldier had lost a leg and looked wide-eyed and frightened as Yevkurov said to him, “I hope you get back on your feet.”