Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that Major General Mikhail Gudkov, deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, was killed on 2 July when a Ukrainian precision strike hit a command post near the town of Korenevo in the country’s western Kursk region. Primorsky Krai Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, whose Far-Eastern region hosts Gudkov’s former brigade, earlier announced the death and offered condolences. The attack, delivered close to the border with Ukraine, also killed at least ten other Russian officers, according to Russian and Ukrainian military channels later cited by state media. Unconfirmed local reports said the strike involved multiple missiles that destroyed the forward command centre. Gudkov, 42, was promoted by President Vladimir Putin in March to oversee all naval infantry as well as coastal missile and artillery units. Before that, he commanded the Pacific Fleet’s 155th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, a formation that has suffered heavy losses during Russia’s campaign in Ukraine. He had been awarded Russia’s highest military honour, the title ‘Hero of Russia’, for actions earlier in the war. His death makes Gudkov one of the most senior Russian officers killed since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. BBC Russian service counts him as at least the eleventh general whose demise has been publicly acknowledged. Moscow did not disclose further details of the strike, and Kyiv has not officially commented.