The deputy chief of the Russian Navy has been killed by Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region, Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of the Primorsky region in Russia’s far east, said Thursday.

Deputy head of the Russian Navy Major General Mikhail Gudkov, who had led a brigade fighting against Ukraine, was killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russia's southern Kursk region, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed on Thursday.

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.