A sniper from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has set a world record for an effective shot which targeted and killed a Russian soldier almost four kilometers away.
"The SBU sniper accomplished an incredible shot at a distance of 3,800 meters, surpassing the previous record of 3,540 meters," reported the state news outlet Ukrinform, citing sources within the SBU on Nov. 18.
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In a video released online, the footage captures the moment the Russian soldier is struck and the evident shock of his comrades who were standing nearby.
"The SBU snipers are redefining the norms of world sniping, showcasing their proficiency at fantastic distances," the SBU noted.
The shot was fired by an anonymous SBU special officer using a Ukrainian "Horizon's Lord" rifle.
Yuriy Chornomorets, a former sniper of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) who now volunteers with the military, confirmed the hit in a comment to Kyiv Post: "The record is officially recognized."
“Our snipers had good positions that made it easier to achieve a successful record shot,” he said.
Chornomorets emphasized the difficulty of achieving a hit from such a distance, noting that Ukrainian snipers had previously targeted a Russian soldier from a similar distance but not fatally.
“The record was not [previously] acknowledged because an accurate hit with fatal consequences was required. And now it [has been] achieved,” he explained.
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Whilst familiar with the sniper group to which the record-breaking shooter belongs, Chornomorets could not reveal any further details about the identity of the sniper for security reasons.
"We have been helping for several months; they are one of the two best sniper groups in Ukraine, maybe even the best. And this [was] my assessment before the record was achieved," Chornomorets said.
As a military volunteer, Chornomorets assists snipers with cartridges, rifles, and scopes.
The previous world record for a successful shot was set in 2017 by an unnamed Canadian Special Forces member of Joint Task Force 2 using a McMillan TAC-50 rifle in .50 BMG (API).
The range of that shot was 3,540 meters. The Ukrainian sniper surpassed this record by an impressive 260 meters.
The “Horizon’s Lord” rifle
The “Horizon's Lord” rifle that was used to take the precision shot is a multi-purpose, multi-caliber sniper rifle. It was developed in collaboration with leading Ukrainian snipers, engineers from the company Horizon's Lord, Bartlein Barrels Inc. (US), and ARC Ballistics (Great Britain).
The rifle weighs 16.7 kilograms, with a length of 1.52 meters when folded and 1.82 meters when unfolded. The maximum declared range of the aimed shot is 3,200 meters, and the effective range of the sniper shot is 2,500 meters. The rifle takes a special 12.7 x 114-millimeter NL cartridge.
According to Chornomorets, the “Horizon's Lord” is a rifle with a record-long range: “At 3,300 meters, in general, a trained person can consistently hit the target. The recoil is [quite strong]; if you suddenly fire three shots, on the fourth, the shoulder can already feel noticeable discomfort,” Chornomorets told Kyiv Post.
For these reasons, the “Horizon's Lord” is currently used in groups alongside other rifles, the volunteer and former sniper explained.
"It's also challenging to carry this rifle; in some groups, there are two assistants per sniper, and that's necessary.”
Chornomorets mentioned that the record shot was fired with a cartridge of a hybrid steroid caliber 12.7 x 114 HL, where the sleeve is from the Soviet cartridge 14.5 x 114, and the bullet is from the NATO caliber .50 BMG.
“The .50 BMG caliber does not allow you to accelerate the bullet to the required speed due to the small casing. In our rifle, the bullet flies out with an initial velocity of more than 1000 meters per second. And the barrel of the 'Horizon's Lord' is longer than on any .50,” Chornomorets posted on his Facebook page.
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