Major General Mikhail Gudkov, deputy head of the Russian Navy and a former commander of a marine brigade fighting against Ukraine, has been killed in action, depriving Moscow of one of its most senior officers,

A top Russian general has been killed in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border, according to the officials. Major General Mikhail Gudkov, the deputy chief of the Russian Navy, was killed during what Russia’s Defence Ministry described as “combat work” in the western Kursk region,

The deputy head of the Russian navy, Mikhail Gudkov, has been killed in Russia’s Kursk region, the country’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed. He is one of the most senior Russian commanders to have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.