(Reuters) -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 Russian military said on Thursday. Gudkov, who was handed a top military honour in the Kremlin by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, was killed on Wednesday "during combat work in one of the border districts of Kursk region," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.