On July 3, 2025, the Russian military announced that Vice Admiral Mikhail Gudkov, who had commanded the Naval Infantry Brigade in operations against Ukraine, was killed in action, depriving Moscow of a senior and experienced leader.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement, Gudkov was killed on Wednesday while carrying out operational tasks in the border area of Kursk. In February of this year, he was awarded a significant military honor by Russian President Putin at the Kremlin.
Earlier reports from unofficial military channels in both Russia and Ukraine mentioned Gudkov’s death, stating that he and other officers were hit by American-made HIMARS missiles during an attack on a command post in the Kursk region, near the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the incident yet, but they have previously accused Gudkov and his subordinates of committing multiple war crimes, a claim vehemently denied by the Russian side.
Reuters reported that the exact cause of death of the 42-year-old Gudkov, also known by the codename “Viking,” cannot be independently verified, nor can his specific mission in Kursk be confirmed.
According to a military blogger in Russia, Gudkov was reportedly leading the Naval Infantry forces in advancing operations in the nearby Sumy region of Ukraine at the time of his death.
Gudkov was responsible for coordinating the coastal and ground forces of the Navy, including the Naval Infantry, and was one of the highest-ranking officers to have died since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At least 10 senior Russian military commanders have been killed in action or assassinated in Kyiv since the start of the war.
Before rising to a senior position in the Navy, Gudkov commanded the Naval Infantry Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet, which participated in the conflict in Ukraine and also operated in Kursk.
In August 2024, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack to capture parts of Kursk, but Russia claimed earlier this year that they had successfully driven out the Ukrainian troops.
(Reference: Reuters)