The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday afternoon that Maj. Gen. Mikhail Gudkov, deputy head of the Russian navy, was killed Wednesday in Russia’s Kursk region.
News of Gudkov’s death surfaced Wednesday evening among Russian military bloggers. More than 10 officers, including Gudkov, were reportedly killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on a Russian command post.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the news.
Before his appointment as deputy commander in chief of the navy in March, Gudkov led the 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, which was accused by Kyiv officials and military bloggers of repeatedly committing war crimes in Ukraine, including executing and beheading prisoners of war.
Gudkov is one of the highest-ranking military officials killed by Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukrainian intelligence previously assassinated chemical weapons chief Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov last December in Moscow. Several other senior Russian military officials have also been killed in attacks that the Kremlin has blamed on Ukraine.
