A Ukrainian sniper has killed a Russian soldier from 1.68 miles away, making it the second-longest combat kill ever recorded, according to Ukraine's Office of Strategic Communications. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm this claim.
"The occupier was eliminated by a precise shot, from a distance of 2,710 meters, a distance that now ranks second in the world ranking. The kill was confirmed by the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," said Ukraine's Office of Strategic Communications on its Telegram account.
"The occupier was eliminated by a precise shot, from a distance of 2,710 meters, a distance that now ranks second in the world ranking. The kill was confirmed by the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces."
Ukraine's Office of Strategic Communications
The world record for the longest confirmed kill was set in 2017 by a Canadian sniper operating in Iraq and stands at 3,450 meters (2.14 miles), according to the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian sniper was using a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle with .50 BMG ammunition.
The rifle used by the Ukrainian snipers
The Ukrainian snipers are using a Snipex Alligator anti-material rifle, a relatively new weapon, made by Snipex. Spinex is a Ukrainian manufacturer of large-caliber firearms and a subsidiary company of XADO-Holding. Snipex claims that its Alligator model can reach an effective distance of 2,000 meter (1.24 mile) and a maximum range of under 7,000 meter (4.35 mile).
The Ukrainian-made, Snipex Alligator long-range, large-caliber, anti-materiel rifle — seen here with a silencer.According to Ukraine’s military, can penetrate a 10 mm armor plate from a single shot 1.5 km away. pic.twitter.com/TcPW7J8oMi
— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) September 19, 2022
Anti-material rifles have extremely long ranges, even compared to modern sniper rifles. The Alligator, which is 2 meters in length, and weighs 25 kg, can penetrate 30 millimeters of armor at a distance of 100 meters, or 10 millimeters of armor-plate from 1.5 km, according to Technology ORG.
What is the situation right now?
On November 9, US General Mark Milley estimated that roughly 100,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. General Milley also estimated that a similar amount of casualties was also sustained on the Ukrainian side.
Russia is in a defensive position, said a Western official, following Russia's retreat from Kherson, and Ukraine's celebrations in the liberated city, according to Reuters. "It's clear that for now, the Russia occupation of Ukraine is a defensive operation," said the official to Reuters.
Philip Ingram, a former senior British military intelligence officer told Reuters that "Ukraine has the initiative and momentum and is dictating to the Russians where and when the next fight will be."
"The winter will slow things but not stop them - the Ukrainians will be well prepared to keep fighting through the winter, the Russians will be less well prepared to survive the winter cold," he added.
Reuters contributed to this report