Deputy Head of Russian Navy Killed in Ukrainian Strike, Moscow Confirms.

By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda Updated at 2022 EAT on Thursday 3 July 2025

The deputy head of the Russian navy, Vice Admiral Mikhail Gudkov, has been killed in Russia’s Kursk region, the country’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Gudkov, 42, is one of the most senior Russian commanders to have died since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

He was appointed to the high-ranking post by President Vladimir Putin in March of this year.

According to a statement quoted by the state-run RIA news agency on Thursday, Gudkov died “during combat operations” in the border region on Wednesday.

Unofficial Russian and Ukrainian military-linked Telegram channels have reported that Vice Admiral Mikhail Gudkov, deputy head of the Russian navy, was killed in a Ukrainian missile strike targeting a command post in Russia’s Kursk region.

The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed Gudkov’s death on Thursday, saying the 42-year-old died “during combat operations” on Wednesday.

He is one of the highest-ranking Russian officers to be killed since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine over three years ago. Gudkov had been appointed to the role by President Vladimir Putin in March.

Clashes have continued in the border region despite Moscow’s claim in April that it had fully regained control of Kursk after Kyiv’s forces seized parts of it in a surprise offensive in August 2024.

Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of Russia’s far eastern Primorye region home to the Pacific Fleet confirmed Gudkov’s death and praised his commitment.

“He died carrying out his duty as an officer,” Kozhemyako wrote on Telegram, adding that Gudkov had previously commanded the 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade.

“Even after becoming deputy chief of the navy, he continued to personally visit the front-line positions of our marines,” the governor said.

News of Gudkov’s death came as Moscow also claimed new territorial gains in Ukraine. On Thursday, the Russian Defence Ministry announced that its forces had captured the villages of Razine and Milove in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian army has not commented on the reports of Vice Admiral Gudkov’s death, but earlier on Thursday it stated that its forces were “steadfastly holding back” Russian attempts to advance in the border region near Kursk.

Elsewhere, two people were killed in a Russian airstrike targeting port infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, local authorities said on Thursday.

The attack is the latest in a series of strikes on Ukraine’s critical export infrastructure, which has come under sustained pressure as fighting intensifies across multiple fronts.

The strike on Odesa involved a ballistic missile fitted with cluster munitions, according to regional governor Oleh Kiper. The use of such weapons has drawn international concern due to their indiscriminate nature and high risk to civilians.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Denmark on Thursday, as Copenhagen officially began its six-month presidency of the European Union.

Standing alongside Zelenskyy, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pledged her country’s full support for Ukraine’s EU ambitions.

“Denmark will do everything in our power to help Ukraine on its path towards EU membership,” Frederiksen said.

Zelenskyy also announced a significant development in Ukraine’s defence capabilities, revealing that the country had signed an agreement with U.S.-based company Swift Beat to produce hundreds of thousands of drones over the course of this year a move expected to bolster Ukraine’s battlefield resilience amid continued Russian aggression.

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