The Special Operations Forces of Ukraine has released footage, which it claims shows a Ukrainian sniper not only hitting two Russian soldiers with one shot, but taking out a total of five in as many minutes. The extraordinary kill occurred while enemy troops were crossing the marksman’s line of fire.
The footage, taken during a patrol in the Donetsk region, shows the view from the sniper’s scope as he aims his weapon at the Russian soldiers. He then fires his rifle, as indicated by the screen temporarily going blank, before the figures fall to the ground in the distance.
Donetsk has been an area of contention since April 2014. While part of Ukraine, the city is under the administration of pro-Russian separatists, who frequently fight with the Ukrainian military for control. In 2014, Donetsk International Airport became the central location for skirmishes between the two sides, ending in the destruction of the site’s buildings, essentially halting all air operations.
According to Ukrainian Special Forces, the sniper, a member of the 3rd Separate Special Forces Regiment, killed three Russian soldiers and wounded another two during the exchange. He achieved this from a distance of nearly 4,000 feet – or 0.76 miles – marking the second time in recent memory that a Ukrainian sniper has made a long-distance kill.
Video of the moment was published to Facebook by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The caption accompanying the footage read, “Five minutes – five hits. With such a result, one of the snipers of the [Special Operations Forces] of Ukraine worked against the Russian occupiers. It happened in the Donetsk direction. As a result, three Russians were killed and two were wounded. During work, it was possible to hit two enemies at once with one shot.”
No additional details were provided regarding the weapon used to secure the historic shots. However, the Ukrainian military is known to equip its snipers with the Snipex Alligator bolt-action, magazine-fed anti-material rifle. The two-meter-long weapon was been in production since 2020 and fires 14.5 x 114 mm cartridges. According to manufacturer Snipex, it’s most effective at 2,000 meters (1.24 miles) and has a maximum range of 7,000 meters (4.35 miles).
As aforementioned, another Ukrainian sniper allegedly performed the second-longest distance kill in military history. After stalking a Russian soldier walking through a grove of trees, he fired his rifle from 1.68 miles away, hitting the target in the chest.
While no details were revealed regarding where the footage was filmed and with what weapon the shot was made, the National Guard of Ukraine wrote in a statement, “With the onset of dusk, snipers of special forces units of the National Guard go hunting. Very quick and accurate work by one of them last night.”
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If true, this kill would come second only to that achieved by an unnamed Canadian Special Forces members with Joint Task Force 2, who took out an ISIS militant from 3,540 meters (2.2 miles) away during a deployment in Iraq in 2017. Similar to the above shot, the exact location where it occurred wasn’t disclosed. However, it was revealed the marksman used a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle with .50 BMG ammunition.