Ukraine claims sniper has broken record for second-longest ranged kill

A Ukrainian sniper has claimed to have carried out the second longest assassination in history, according to Kiev military leaders.

The unnamed sniper killed a Russian soldier from a distance of 2,710 meters – about 1.7 miles – according to the Ukrainian army, which it said released images of the shot looking through the sniper’s sights.

If confirmed, the Ukrainian sniper would catch up with Briton Craig Harrison who killed two Taliban fighters at a distance of 2,475 meters in 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

An unnamed Canadian sniper holds the record for longest combat kill at 3,540 meters after taking out an ISIS militant at an undisclosed location in Iraq in 2017.

Ukraine claims one of its snipers knocked out a Russian soldier at 2,710 meters altitude, which would be the second-longest ranged kill in combat if confirmed

Footage published by the Ukrainian Armed Forces of their assassination shows a man moving between trees before the gunman centers his sights on his chest.

The thermal sight pops up, indicating that the rifle has been fired, before the figure falls to the ground about three seconds later.

A second figure then comes running towards the first in an apparent attempt to help his wounded comrade, before the sniper fires a second time.

Both figures then fall to the ground.

The Ukrainian military did not provide other details about the incident, such as when or where it was filmed, or the weapon or ammunition used.

Some internet users disputed the images, suggesting that most thermal telescopes would not have been able to see the Russian soldiers at that distance.

A Canadian sniper holds the record for longest ever sniper at 11,614 feet – while Britain’s Craig Harrison takes the official second place

A British sniper team patrols Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2006. The sniper who killed six Taliban with one shot was on one of the last missions conducted by British forces in Afghanistan

Others noted that there was too little time between firing the rifle and the soldier’s slump to account for the distance covered.

When the Canadian sniper committed his record-breaking kill in 2017, the military said it took about 10 seconds for the bullet to hit its target.

Confirming military kills is a notoriously tricky business that relies largely on soldiers’ self-reports due to the difficulty of getting information from behind enemy lines during conflict.

Over-reporting of casualties is therefore common and has plagued military tacticians throughout history.

Adolf Hitler is said to have misjudged the strength of the RAF during the Battle of Britain, as the Luftwaffe exaggerated their kills by a factor of seven during the early weeks of fighting.

It was later found that the RAF overcounted their own deaths by a factor of two.

In the case of Craig Harrison, Afghan National Police confirmed that he had killed two Taliban fighters when they visited the shooting site shortly after to try to recover the militants’ weapons.

Ukrainian soldiers open fire with an artillery gun on Russian positions near the front lines in Bakhmut, Donetsk, as the war continues

A destroyed Russian military vehicle is seen in the Mirolubovka village in Kherson, which was recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces

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 that he took the photo with an L115A3 Long Range Rifle and that conditions at the time were “perfect” – no wind, mild weather and good visibility.

In the case of the record-breaking Canadian shot, it’s believed to have been caught on film by a Predator drone circling overhead at the time.

The Canadian military said the shot was taken by a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle fired from the top floors of a tall building.

A report from the news site SOFREP said the murder took place in Mosul, and that the gunman and his team had recently trained in long-range snipers.

They had been firing over the city at increasing distances for several days prior to the record-breaking murder.

A second shot from the same sniper at a slightly closer range moments after the first missed its target, the site reported.

The Ukrainian military did not say how it had confirmed their sniper’s deployment.

Another record is held by another British sniper who killed six Taliban with a single bullet after the latter pulled the trigger on a suicide vest he was wearing.

The 20-year-old Coldstream Guards corporal made the stunning shot in Kakaran, southern Afghanistan, in December 2013.

His shot reached 850 m to reach his target, but the same gunman had previously knocked out a Taliban fighter at 1,340 m.