Major General Mikhail Gudkov, the deputy head of the Russian Navy, died during strike operations in Russia’s western Kursk region near Ukraine’s Sumy region. Russia’s defence ministry confirmed his death but didn’t give more details about the mission.
Gudkov got the post in March and was appointed by President Vladimir Putin.
In June, Ukraine said its troops still held small areas in the Kursk region, though Russia pushed most of them out after a surprise offensive last summer. Gudkov’s death is one of the most significant for Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
According to Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of the Primorsky region in Russia’s Far East, ten more people died in the same attack. He shared this on Telegram and described Gudkov as a loyal officer who died “carrying out his duty.”
Unconfirmed reports from Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels linked to the military say a Ukrainian missile strike hit a Russian command post near Korenevo, about 30 km from the border. Ukraine has not officially commented, adhering to its customary policy of refraining from commenting on strikes within Russia.
Before this role, Gudkov led the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet. This unit fought in eastern Ukraine and later in the Kursk region. Footage from Vladivostok showed people laying flowers at a memorial for Gudkov. He received Russia’s highest honour, the Gold Star medal, in late 2023 and got it from Putin at a Kremlin event in February.
Ukraine hasn’t confirmed its role in Gudkov’s death. But Ukrainian security sources have earlier told the BBC they carried out similar strikes, like the one that killed General Igor Kirillov in December 2024.
General Yaroslav Moskalik died in a car bombing in Moscow earlier this year. The Kremlin blamed Ukraine. At that time, Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine was “continuing its involvement in terrorist activities inside our country.”
Since 2022, both sides have faced several high-level assassination plots. Ukraine’s security service said it stopped a Russian plan to kill President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials. Zelensky noted early in the war that he was Russia’s “number one target.”
In other attacks, two people died and six were injured in a missile strike on Odesa’s port. A separate strike in Poltava on an army recruitment centre killed two people and wounded nearly 50.
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