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19th August 2025
10:59am BST
A Ukrainian sniper has shot and killed two Russian soldiers with a single bullet from 2.5 miles away.
It has been claimed that the distance, of more than 4,000m, is a new world record for the longest ever shot by a marksman.
The news of the achievement was broken by a Ukrainian journalist named Yurii Butusov, who took to Telegram to write: "Incredible accuracy and a new world record for the longest range!
“During the year of performing combat missions in the defence of [Donetsk region], almost 1,000 servicemen of the Russian armed forces have already been destroyed!”
The sniper was from Ukraine’s renowned Pryvyd (“Ghost”) unit and was using a a 14.5mm calibre Snipex Alligator rifle.
Footage of the shot shows a building containing two Russian soldiers who both fall to the ground following the bullet's impact.
The Ukrainian journalist Butusov said the shot was made possible through the use of advanced technologies like AI and an unmanned drone, helping the ghost sniper see well beyond the limits of his own eyesight.
The Russian soldiers had been occupying a building in between the cities of Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk.
Donetsk has been at the heart of conflict between Russia and Ukraine since as early as 2014.
It is part of the contested territory that may have to be surrendered by Ukraine as part of peace negotiations that are currently ongoing.
Earlier today Ukrainian President Zelenskyy indicted his willingness to meet with his counterpart President Putin in order to speed up an end to the conflict.
Despite peace talks ongoing, Russian forces have been intensifying attacks in the around Pokrovsk.
Analysts have suggested that Putin wants to increase his land control of the wider Donetsk region in order to secure it as part of Russian territory during the final peace settlement.
