Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A high-ranking Russian naval officer Major General Mikhail Gudkov has been killed in a Ukrainian strike in Russia’s Kursk region, Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of Russia’s Primorsky Krai confirmed on July 3.
Gudkov, the deputy commander of the Russian Navy, was killed in Kursk Oblast, bordering Ukraine, according to Kozhemyako.
Gudkov was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy in March 2025. Prior to that, he led the 155th Separate Marine Brigade, which has been involved in combat operations against Ukraine. Gudkov held the titles of Hero of Russia and Hero of Primorye, Russia’s far eastern region where he previously served.
His death reportedly occurred during a Ukrainian attack on a Russian command post in the border district of Korenevo.
According to Kozhemyako, several other Russian service members were killed alongside Gudkov, including army officer Nariman Shikhaliyev.
Ukraine has not officially commented on the reports.
Earlier, Ukraine had been targeting other high-ranking Russian officials, including Rosgvardia battalion commander Dmitry Bezborodov, originally from Saratov, and Major General Roman Kutuzov.
Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast in August 2024, making it the first large-scale invasion of Russian territory by foreign troops since World War II. The move was intended to disrupt a planned Russian offensive targeting Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast and to relieve pressure on the Donetsk front.
Since then, Ukraine claims it has inflicted 63,402 Russian troop casualties in the oblast, including 25,625 killed and 971 captured. Ukrainian forces also say they have destroyed or damaged over 5,664 pieces of Russian military equipment in the area.
Russia retook most of the lost territory during a renewed offensive in March 2025, supported by North Korean troops.
Arrests, raids, beaten and bloodied suspects — how Russia-Azerbaijan relations have unravelled
Deaths in custody, media offices raided, and beaten and bloodied suspects paraded in court — relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, once considered close, have sharply deteriorated in recent days amid a series of high-profile incidents. The latest tensions erupted over the weekend when Russian law enforcement officers detained over 50 Azerbaijani
