A Ukrainian sniper has broken the world record by killing a Russian soldier at a distance of nearly 2.5 miles, Kyiv's security service has said.
A Ukrainian sniper working for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) killed a Russian soldier at a distance of 3.8 kilometers, or around 2.3 miles, the SBU confirmed to Newsweek after reports circulated across Ukrainian media outlets.
In 2017, a Canadian special forces sniper had held the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill at a distance of 3,540 meters in Iraq. British sniper Craig Harrison had previously held the title after he killed a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan in 2009, making the shot from a distance of 2,475 meters.
"The SBU sniper set a world record," the SBU's press office said a statement. "He hit a Russian soldier from an incredible distance," Kyiv added. The SBU said that the shot had broken the previous world record by approximately 260 meters (just over 850 feet).
"SBU snipers are changing the rules of world sniping, demonstrating the ability to work effectively at fantastic distances," the SBU said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian media outlets also shared footage purportedly showing the record-breaking strike. The shot was made with a domestically produced rifle, the Ukrainian security service told Newsweek.
Newsweek could not independently verify this, and has reached out to Russia's defense ministry for additional comment.
Ukraine is heading quickly into its 21st month of its war against Russia after the latter invaded in February 2022, plunging fighters on both sides into the tougher winter conditions of the approaching few months. The war has been previously described as an artillery war, but snipers have also played a key role on the battlefield.
On Sunday, Ukraine's General Staff said it had intercepted a barrage of strategic drones launched against the country by Russia overnight. Kyiv's air-defense systems destroyed 15 out 20 Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Moscow, the General Staff added. Over the previous 24 hours, Moscow launched five missiles and 76 airstrikes against Ukraine, the Kyiv's military added in a statement. More than 150 Ukrainian settlements in the north, east and south of the country came under artillery fire over the past day.
Meanwhile, fighting is continuing around the embattled Donetsk town of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian military said in a statement, adding that Kyiv's fighters recorded 22 attacks around the Donetsk town of Marinka.
On Sunday, Russia's defense ministry said its southern grouping of forces had stopped six Ukrainian attacks around Marinka and the villages of Klishchiivka and Shumy.
Update 11/20/2023, 4:18 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from Ukraine's SBU.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
