Moscow acknowledged the death of Navy General Commander Mikhail Gudkov as Kyiv accused him of ‘war crimes’, denied by Moscow. Major General Mikhail Gudkov, deputy head of the Russian Navy, lauded by Russian President Vladmir Putin was killed in action.
The announcement of the demise of Mikhail Gudkov on 3 July, among other important military officials. Gudkov was personally promoted and lauded by Putin, a top military honor in February 2025 and the top naval post in March died “during combat work in one of the border districts of Kursk region”, a region near Ukraine, revealed the Defence Ministry, reports Reuters.
BREAKING:
Major General Mikhail Gudkov, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, has been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike.
He was killed in a strike on a command center in Russia’s Kursk region along with 10 other high-ranking Russian officers. pic.twitter.com/NmW3XBk97l
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 3, 2025
The official news confirmation was preceded by multiple unofficial Russian and Ukrainian telegram channels that stated that multiple military officials including Gudkov passed away in a Ukrainian missile attack on a command post with the U.S.-made HIMARS missile.
Nothing is known of how the 42 year old Military Commander died. Gudkov whose call sign was ‘Viking’ passed away among his fellow officers from an Ukrainian airstrike in Kursk. Some Russian based bloggers and unofficial sources said that Gudkov was in full command of the marines advancing in Ukraine’s Sumy region.
A LIFE OF MILITARY SERVICE
Born in 1983, Gudkov joined the Armed Forces in 2000, and before Ukraine, took part in anti-terrorist campaigns in Chechnya and Syria.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced his death on July 3.
9/9 pic.twitter.com/tUSSXgtRJM
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) July 5, 2025
His position and role was important with high level knowledge on Navy warfare, Gudkov was said to be in charge of the navy’s coastal rocket and artillery forces and all of the navy’s marine units. He is among 10 of the most senior officers to have died since the full blown war between Ukraine and Russia from 2022.
Although there was no immediate response from Kyiv, which called Gudkov and his fellow officers committing war crimes, which Moscow denied. Gudkov was commanding one of the elite navy unit of Russia, the 155th Marine brigade and regarded as one of the most effective by his troops
