A Ukrainian sniper has reportedly shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill, striking down two Russian soldiers with a single bullet from nearly two and a half miles away.

The extraordinary shot�measured at 4,374 yards (13,122 feet)�was fired on Thursday near Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine�s Donetsk region, according to Ukraine�s Defense Express. The gunman belonged to Ukraine�s elite �Pryvyd,� or �Ghost,� sniper unit and was operating with the aid of drones and artificial intelligence.

Footage released by Ukrainian military channels shows the round fired from a Ukrainian-designed 14.5mm �Alligator� sniper rifle before piercing a window where Russian troops had taken cover. �The bullet went through the window behind which the occupiers were standing,� wrote Ukrainian military analyst Yuri Butusov, who shared the video online.

The achievement� appears to eclipse not only the standing global record but also Ukraine�s own previous milestone. In November 2023, a 58-year-old veteran of the country�s Security Service (SBU) hit a Russian target from 4,156 yards (2.36 miles) with a �Lord of the Horizon� rifle.

Before Ukraine�s record-breaking shots, the benchmark belonged to a Canadian Special Forces sniper who killed an ISIS fighter at 2.20 miles in Iraq in 2017.

The Alligator rifle used in Thursday�s strike was originally marketed not as a weapon for infantry combat but as a tool for destroying equipment. Manufactured by Kharkiv-based XADO-Holding, the semi-automatic rifle fires 14.5mm rounds at speeds exceeding 3,200 feet per second. Its stated effective range was just 1.2 miles�barely half the distance of the latest kill.

The claim adds to Ukraine�s growing reputation for redefining long-range precision warfare, blending cutting-edge optics, AI-assisted targeting, and drone surveillance into its frontline tactics. If verified by independent sources, the shot would not only mark a new world record but also underscore how Ukraine is leveraging domestic engineering to challenge Russia with technology once thought impossible in the chaos of war.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)