The deputy commander of Russia’s navy, Major General Mikhail Gudkov, was killed by a Ukrainian missile strike in the far-western Russian city of Kursk, a state-linked Russian news outlet said on Thursday.
Gudkov, who previously commanded a Russian marine unit involved in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, died of injuries sustained in the strike on a military administration building, according to the AiF website.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense provided no details, but confirmed that Gudkov died “during combat operations in one of the border areas of the Kursk region.”
Telegram/Russian Ministry of Defense
Ukrainians saw it as a boost to morale at the end of a difficult week. The Trump administration said Tuesday that it had paused some weapons deliveries to Ukraine, prompting alarm in Kyiv, uncertainty among America’s NATO allies, and some crowing from Moscow.
The White House did not confirm which weapons were being pulled from delivery, or the scale of the reduction in U.S. military support for Ukraine.
The announcement came about a week after President Trump met with his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a NATO summit in the Netherlands. Speaking after their meeting, Mr. Trump said he was considering sending additional Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine to help strengthen the country’s air defenses against Russia’s bombardment.
“They do want to have the anti-missile missiles … the Patriots,” Mr. Trump told reporters after his meeting with Zelenskyy, “and we’re going to see if we can make some available.” He added that the Patriots were, “hard to get.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said it invited U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in Kyiv John Ginkel to the ministry on Wednesday to stress that “any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities would only encourage” Russia to continue its war, rather than to seek the peace that Mr. Trump has said many times he wants to help usher.
President Trump said in a Thursday morning post on his Truth Social media platform that he would speak later in the day with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone.
“Ukraine has not received any official notifications about the suspension or revision of the delivery schedules of the agreed defense assistance, so we proceed from the actual data and check the details of each element in the delivery,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
Zelenskyy said in a video statement that Ukraine was seeking to clarify details of any change in defense support from the U.S.
CBS News’ Margaret Brennan reported Thursday that Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy were to hold a phone call on Friday to discuss the war after the announcement of the reduction in U.S. weapons deliveries.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized the urgency of sustained military backing in a social media post, saying “the only way to force Russia to end the war is to increase pressure on Moscow and strengthen Ukraine.”
Moscow’s reaction was also swift, and decidedly more optimistic. Chief Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the news from the White House, “a logical and overdue step,” suggesting that Western fatigue with the war in Ukraine would only grow.
“The less weapons are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the Special Military Operation is,” Peskov said, according to TASS, using the Kremlin’s term for the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
ORI AVIRAM/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty 
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged during the summit last week that the Trump administration needed to prioritize U.S. weapons inventories, but he stressed that Ukraine depends heavily on American hardware — especially ammunition and air defense systems — and he urged Washington to remain flexible, and called on Europe’s NATO members to increase contributions for Ukraine.
“It’s a clear message to step up our own support,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters this week, “ramping up our European defense capacities, not only at the level of the European Union, but at the continental level.”
Kyiv and several other major Ukrainian cities have faced an escalating barrage of missile and drone attacks over the last month, sometimes overwhelming the country’s air defense systems and causing significant civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.
Over the weekend, Russia launched what Ukrainian officials called the biggest aerial attack of the war, hitting energy facilities, residential areas and military infrastructure in a coordinated strike involving dozens of missiles and Iranian-made attack drones.
Ukrainians say the surge in airstrikes has underscored their need for strengthened air defenses.
