A Ukrainian sniper claims to be a world record holder after shooting a Russian soldier from 2.36 miles away with a custom-made rifle called the “Lord of the Horizon.”
The unnamed sniper, who serves in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), reportedly managed to break the previous record of 2.2 miles set by a Canadian special sniper in Iraq in 2017.
A video reportedly shows the Russian target falling several seconds after the SBU sniper fired.
A line of three stationary Russian soldiers quickly becomes a line of two as the bullet kills the soldier in the currently unknown location.
The SBU said: “The SBU snipers are rewriting the rules of global sniper attack, demonstrating unparalleled capabilities to operate effectively at remarkable distances.”
A video reportedly shows the Russian target falling several seconds after the SBU sniper fired
A line of three stationary Russian soldiers quickly becomes a line of two as the bullet takes out the soldier
(File image) Ukraine’s snipers are often deployed as a vanguard for planned counteroffensive maneuvers and are tasked with taking out high-value Russian targets before other forces can intervene
The Ukrainian military did not provide further details about the incident, such as when or where it was filmed, or say how it confirmed their sniper’s efforts.
“Lord of the Horizon” was designed and manufactured by MAYAK, a Ukrainian arms manufacturer, and measures a massive 6 feet in length, Firearms Blog reports.
With the right ammunition, the rifle can fire bullets to stay faster than the speed of sound for a distance of nearly 10,000 feet.
The shooting came after another Ukrainian sniper claimed to have carried out the second-longest combat kill in history in 2022.
The unnamed sniper gunned down a Russian soldier from a distance of 2,710 meters – about 1.7 miles – according to the Ukrainian military, which last year released what it said was footage of the shot falling into the sniper’s scope.
Footage of their killing released last year by Ukrainian forces showed an image of a man moving through trees before the gunman trained his crosshairs on his chest.
Ukraine claimed in 2022 that one of its snipers took out a Russian soldier at 9,000 feet (2,710 m), which if confirmed would be the second-longest ranged shot in combat
A Canadian sniper previously held the record for the longest sniper kill of all time at 11,614 feet – while Britain’s Craig Harrison held the official second spot before a Ukrainian sniper took it
The thermal sight was seen popping up, indicating the rifle was fired, before the figure fell to the ground about three seconds later.
Then a second figure ran towards the first, apparently trying to help his wounded comrade, before the sniper fired a second time.
Both figures then collapsed to the ground.
The Ukrainian sniper apparently trumped a shot from British sniper Craig Harrison, who killed two Taliban fighters from a distance of 2,475 meters in Afghanistan’s Helmand province in 2009.
Afghan National Police confirmed he had killed two Taliban fighters when they visited the scene of the shooting shortly after to try to recover the militants’ weapons.
An Apache helicopter equipped with a laser rangefinder was then sent over Corporal Harrison’s firing position to measure the distance between the two points.
Harrison later said he took the shot with an L115A3 long-range rifle and that the conditions at the time were “perfect” – no wind, mild weather and good visibility.
In the case of the record-breaking Canadian image, it is believed that it was filmed by a Predator drone that was circling overhead at the time.
The Canadian military said the shot was fired from a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle fired from the upper floors of a high-rise building.
A report from news site SOFREP said the killing took place in Mosul and that the shooter and his team had recently trained in long-range sniper shooting.
They had been firing over the city from ever-increasing distances for several days before the record-breaking killing occurred.
A second shot from the same sniper from a slightly closer range, shortly after the first missed its target, the website reported.
Another record is held by another British sniper who killed six Taliban with a single bullet after it hit the trigger switch of a suicide vest the target was wearing.
The 20-year-old Lance Corporal of the Coldstream Guards achieved the breathtaking shot in Kakaran in southern Afghanistan in December 2013.
His shot traveled 850 meters to reach its target, but the same shooter had previously taken out a Taliban fighter at 1,340 meters.
Confirming military killings is a notoriously tricky undertaking, relying largely on soldiers’ self-reporting because of the difficulty of obtaining information from behind enemy lines during a conflict.
Over-reporting of casualties is therefore common and has plagued military tacticians throughout history.
Ukraine snipers are often deployed as advance guards for planned counteroffensive maneuvers and are tasked with taking out key Russian targets before other forces can intervene.
The killings of the squad named after their leader are electronically recorded using the sights of their rifles
The unit’s snipers often have to wait in one position for up to 16 hours a day and must be very well camouflaged
The commander of the already legendary Ghosts of Bakhmut revealed that his unit’s snipers often have to wait in a single position for up to 16 hours a day.
“It’s nothing more than American films that romanticize the work of snipers and portray it as very glamorous.”
Commander Ghost, who claims to have killed at least 113 Russian targets, said the unit’s work is largely based on survival.
“You learn arithmetic, you do math.” You learn to disguise yourself, you learn about the environment. You can shoot very well, but if you can’t survive, it’s of no value.”
“We work 24 hours a day, we make no distinction between day and night.” There are no weekends. “You’re completely exhausted, all the juices have been squeezed out of you and when you come back from a mission you’re a complete mess.”