Unternehmen Zitadelle
Aviation units under his command took part in the offensive of the Western Front forces in the Rzhev-Sychevka direction and supported the ground troops in the Rzhev-Vyazma operation. In 1943 Marshal Khudyakov coordinated combat operations of the Air Force of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle for the Dnieper. During the Battle of Kursk, his 14-year-old Victor was killed in an enemy air raid. Victor's body was taken to Moscow and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.