Russia’s military has confirmed the death of Major General Mikhail Gudkov, the deputy head of the Russian Navy, in what it described as a combat operation near the Ukrainian border.

Gudkov, who was appointed to the senior position in March by President Vladimir Putin, died in the western Kursk region, an area bordering Ukraine’s Sumy region.

In a statement issued by Russia's defence ministry, Gudkov was said to have been killed during "combat work" in the region. However, the ministry did not provide further details about the nature of the operation or how it unfolded.

The general’s death marks one of the most senior losses for Moscow since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

Gudkov previously led the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet, a unit that has been engaged in intense fighting in eastern Ukraine and more recently in the Kursk region.

According to Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of the Primorsky region in Russia’s Far East, ten other people were also killed in the same incident. In a message shared on Telegram, he described Gudkov as a devoted officer who died "carrying out his duty."

Unverified reports circulating on Russian and Ukrainian military-linked Telegram channels claim the deaths were the result of a Ukrainian missile strike on a command post near Korenevo, a town located roughly 30 kilometres from the border.

However, Ukraine has not commented on the alleged strike — consistent with its ongoing policy of not confirming attacks on Russian territory.

Gudkov was honoured with the Gold Star medal of Hero of Russia in late 2023 and was seen receiving the award from Putin at a Kremlin ceremony in February. Following news of his death, mourners in the far eastern city of Vladivostok — home to Russia’s Pacific Fleet — gathered to lay flowers at a makeshift memorial in his honour.

While Ukraine has remained silent on Gudkov’s death, sources within Ukrainian security services have previously confirmed responsibility for other targeted strikes, including the killing of General Igor Kirillov in December 2024. Earlier this year, another Russian general, Yaroslav Moskalik, was killed in a car bomb explosion in Moscow, an attack the Kremlin blamed on Kyiv.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov had at the time accused Ukraine of "continuing its involvement in terrorist activities inside our country".

Both sides have reportedly been the target of assassination plots since the conflict began.

In 2023, Ukraine’s security service claimed it had thwarted a Russian plan to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials. Zelensky had earlier declared himself Russia’s "number one target".

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported fresh Russian attacks on Thursday.

Two people were killed and six injured in a missile strike on the port city of Odesa, while a separate strike on an army recruitment centre in the central city of Poltava left two dead and nearly 50 wounded.