One bullet, two soldiers: Ukrainian sniper shatters world record with 2.5-mile kill shot

A Ukrainian sniper has reportedly set a new world record for the longest confirmed kill, striking two Russian soldiers with a single bullet fired from nearly 2.5 miles away. Ukraine’s military celebrated the kill as the longest confirmed sniper shot in history, surpassing records set in previous wars.

Ukraine’s record-breaking shot

The bullet traveled an astonishing 4,374 yards, fired from a 14.5mm Alligator rifle made in Ukraine. Reports said the marksman received targeting support from drones and artificial intelligence, increasing accuracy across such an extreme distance.

The Alligator rifle was manufactured by Kharkiv-based XADO-Holding. It fires a powerful 14.5mm round with a high muzzle velocity and debuted as a weapon meant to pierce vehicles and equipment, not enemy soldiers. When it debuted in 2021, the company claimed it had an effective range of 1.2 miles.

Yuri Butusov, a military expert, released video evidence of the moment, according to the New York Post. He explained that the shot passed through a window before striking the two soldiers. His footage quickly spread online, drawing both praise and skepticism.

This achievement broke Ukraine’s own previous record. In November 2023, a 58-year-old veteran from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) killed an enemy fighter at 4,156 yards. That shot, taken with the Ukrainian Lord of the Horizon rifle, had already surpassed earlier benchmarks made by a Canadian marksman.

Reactions online to the announcement

People online were largely skeptical of the news, especially given the rifle’s reported effective range. A number of people on X said that it was highly unlikely that even with a scope and drone assistance that the sniper could have shot one person, let alone two, with the same bullet going through a window.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Having a better range is very unlikely but not impossible,” @EngrStudent tweeted. “Taking out two people with one extremely low caliber bullet at a new extreme range is practically cartoonish. Personally I’m going to believe that it is propaganda and not factual reporting.”

Another person noted, “I don’t think people realize how far 2.5 miles is. Not to mention that [there] isn’t a single scope that could see that far.”

Other folks who were less skeptical applauded the shot, which was allegedly done with AI assistance.

“Holy cow, AI assisted sniping. That’s impressive,” @DoDanpachi posted.