Mikhail Gudkov, 42, had served in the military since 2000 and was made "Hero of the Russian Federation" by President Vladimir Putin in 2023 -- the Kremlin's highest honour.

He is one of the most senior Russian military officers to have been killed since Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

"During combat operations in one of the border areas of the Kursk region on July 2, 2025... Major General Mikhail Evgenievich Gudkov was killed," Russia's state RIA news agency quoted the defence ministry as saying.

Oleg Kozhemyako, head of the Primorye region in Russia's Far East, said Gudkov "was killed carrying out his duty as an officer".

Kozhemyako said he had spoken to Gudkov "a lot" over the years, praising him as a "strong-spirited fighter".

He said Gudkov was a former commander of the 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet based in the Russian Far East.

The governor said that, even after becoming deputy commander of the Russian navy, Gudkov "did not stop going out in person to the positions of our marines".

Ukrainian forces captured large parts of Kursk in a surprise offensive last year -- a response to Russia's full-scale campaign against their country which began in 2022.

Russia in April said it had fully recaptured the territory but clashes in the border region have continued.