Elimination of Russian generals undermining army command – UK intelligence

The UK Defense Ministry said this in an intelligence update published on X, Ukrinform reports.

The ministry stated that the loss of so many high-ranking officers is likely to have had the effect of undermining command and control in parts of the Russian Armed Forces. This has likely contributed to Russian tactical and operational difficulties during the conflict.

This assessment comes in the wake of the recent elimination of Major General Mikhail Gudkov, former commander of Russia's 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet.

"The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that Major General Mikhail Gudkov was killed on July 2, 2025 in the Kursk oblast in western Russia. Gudkov, appointed as a Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy on March 28, 2025, was killed in a Ukrainian strike on a Russian command post. It is likely Gudkov was directing marine infantry units attempting to establish a buffer zone in the Ukrainian oblast of Sumy," the report said.

Gudkov is reportedly the second senior Russian general to be killed in 2025, the fifth general killed in the last 12 months, and the sixteenth Russian general killed since Russia launched its illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The governor of Russia's Primorsky Krai, Oleg Kozhemyako, recently confirmed that Gudkov had been killed in the Kursk region.