Russia-Ukraine Struggle: Main Normal Mikhail Gudkov had no warning. One second, he was coordinating troop rotations close to the Kursk entrance. The subsequent, a Ukrainian missile slammed into his location. Russia confirmed his loss of life on July 3. His rank made headlines. His title joined a rising record.
For the reason that invasion started in February 2022, Ukraine has finished greater than resist. It has hunted. One after the other, senior Russian army leaders have been killed – some in battle and a few in bombings removed from the entrance.
Ukraine is just not solely placing tanks. It’s dismantling the Russian struggle machine at its core and concentrating on the minds behind the missiles.
Sukhovetsky was first
February 28, 2022. Close to Kyiv. Deputy Commander of Russia’s forty first Military, Main Normal Andrei Sukhovetsky, was hit. He was 47. He had fought in Syria and Georgia. His loss of life surprised Moscow.
Then got here Frolov
He was a deputy commander of the eighth Guards Military. Killed by sniper hearth throughout Russia’s siege of Mariupol in April 2022 on the age of 55. He had fought in Syria as nicely. He was buried in Saint Petersburg.
Botashev killed within the skies
Might 2022. Luhansk. A former air power basic, Kanamat Botashev, flew a fight mission and by no means returned. Retired. Then returned to struggle. Died at 63. Shot down mid-air.
Kutuzov promoted after loss of life
June 2022. Luhansk once more. Colonel Roman Kutuzov was main his males when he was killed. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant basic. A uncommon gesture in Russia.
Goryachev, Zaporizhzhia, missile strike
June 2023. Main Normal Sergei Goryachev died in a Ukrainian missile strike. Chief of Employees of Russia’s thirty fifth Military, he was a embellished veteran of Chechnya and Moldova’s Transnistria area.
One other missile killed Tsokov
July 2023. Lieutenant Normal Oleg Tsokov, mdeputy commander of the Southern Navy District, died in Zaporizhzhia. Had survived one earlier strike. The second was deadly.
Zavadsky – the loss of life nobody agrees on
November 2023. Some say he stepped on a Russian landmine in Kharkiv. Others say he was killed in motion. Main Normal Vladimir Zavadsky’s loss of life stays unclear. Russia stayed imprecise.
Klimenko – killed at a checkpoint
November 2023. Donetsk area. Ukrainian drone strike. Main Normal Pavel Klimenko was 47. Russia confirmed his loss of life. Ukrainian sources say he ran a torture camp. Claims unverified.
Kirillov – bombed in Moscow
December 2024. A automotive exploded outdoors his condominium. Lieutenant Normal Igor Kirillov was killed immediately. Ukraine’s SBU claimed accountability.
Kirillov had led Russia’s chemical weapons division. Ukraine blamed him for poisonous fuel assaults.
Moskalik – killed in one other blast
April 2025. A automotive exploded in Balashikha, a suburb of Moscow. Deputy head of the Russian Normal Employees’s operations directorate, Yaroslav Moskalik, was inside. He didn’t survive.
Now, Gudkov
Kursk. July 2025. Main Normal Mikhail Gudkov, former naval officer who was lately deployed to coordinate southern defenses, was killed by precision strike.
Moscow confirmed the hit.
The record retains rising. Ukraine’s struggle is not confined to trenches and drones. It’s concentrating on the lads in cost. Airbases. Checkpoints. Even houses in Moscow suburbs. No rank is protected.
And every title erased is greater than a battlefield casualty. It’s a message. Ukraine is watching. Ready. Placing.