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,

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.

Russian Navy Deputy Head Major General Mikhail Gudkov killed in action during combat in Kursk region, a senior officer lost.