Ukrainian Sniper Team Claims World's Longest Kill

A Ukrainian sniper unit has reportedly set a new world record for the longest confirmed sniper kill, taking out two Russian soldiers through a window at a distance of 2.5 miles (4,374 yards). The sniper unit, "Pryvyd" or "Ghost," used the Ukrainian-made Alligator rifle, chambered in 14.5 mm, with assistance from artificial intelligence and drone guidance, to kill the soldiers in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on Thursday, reports the Kyiv Post. Ukrainian military journalist Yuri Butusov shared video of the shot on Friday, noting, "the bullet went through the window behind which the occupiers were standing (to the left of the pipe)."

A bullet fired from the 55-pound Alligator rifle can travel for more than four miles, though at around a mile, "the deviation can already form a circle roughly one meter in diameter," the Post reports. Therefore, to achieve this new record, "the sniper most likely had to fire a series of shots." The "Pryvyd" unit has already taken out nearly 1,000 Russian troops over the past year, according to Ukrainian government-run platform United24. The previous world record belonged to a 58-year-old sniper from the Security Service of Ukraine, who killed a target from 3,800 meters (about 4,156 yards) in the Kherson region in November 2023 using the domestically made "Lord of the Horizon" rifle.