A Ukrainian sniper has set a new world record by killing two Russian soldiers with a single shot from 4,000 meters (2.5 miles).
According to military journalist Yurii Butusov, the record-breaking shot was fired by the Pryvyd (Ghost) sniper detachment along the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad defensive line on August 14.
🎯👀🇺🇦 4,000 meters: a historic sniper shot!
Ukrainian sniper from “Pryvyd” group, using AI, successfully fired a shot at a record distance of 4,000 meters, eliminating two occupiers in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad defense line.
The unique hit without direct visibility was performed… pic.twitter.com/wMQY4Ccf1K
— MAKS 25 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) August 15, 2025
“Incredible accuracy and a new world record for long-range engagement! A Ukrainian sniper eliminated two Russian servicemen from a distance of 4,000 meters. The bullet went through a window behind which the occupiers were positioned (to the left of the chimney),” Butusov wrote on Telegram.
The sniper reportedly used a 14.5 mm Aligator rifle, with targeting assisted by artificial intelligence and guided by a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) system.
The Alligator rifle, built by Kharkiv-based XADO-Holding, weighs 25 kilograms and was designed as an anti-materiel rifle with an effective range of 2 kilometers. Analysts note its rounds can reach 7 kilometers, though accuracy declines sharply at extreme distance.
The shot surpasses the previous record of 3,800 meters, set in 2023 by Ukrainian sniper Vyacheslav Kovalskyi. Other notable records include a Canadian sniper’s 3,540-meter kill in Iraq in 2017 and an Australian soldier’s 2,815-meter shot in Afghanistan in 2012.
Ukrainian sniper Viacheslav Kovalskyi broke the world record by hitting the Russian occupier at a distance of 3800 meters (almost 2½ miles) – Wall Street Journal.
Viacheslav Kovalskyi, a 58-year-old former businessman and now a sniper with the counterintelligence unit of the… pic.twitter.com/Nqb2AJswa2
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 6, 2023
