Ukrainian 'ghost' sniper claims world record with kill shot from 2.5 miles away
A Ukrainian sniper has staked claim for the longest kill shot in history after he is believed to have sniped two Russian soldiers 2.5 miles away.
To put the distance into perspective, that's the distance between the Empire State Building and The Great Lawn inside Central Park in New York - or for those on the west coast of the US, it's 0.8 miles further than the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.
The shooter is believed to have discharged from 13,123ft - which is 2.48 miles - away with a 14.5mm Alligator sniper rifle, with the bullet first smashing through a glass window where he was positioned before it hit the Russian soldiers.
Footage taken of the kill depicts the gunman firing multiple bullets traveling before a bright light is then seen - presumably being the bullets that missed striking a wall, while two of Russian President Vladimir Putin's men are felled.
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It took place in Donetsk - an area of Ukraine which its foe is believed to occupy as much as 70 percent of the region, with the bullets hailing from the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad defensive line.
The rifleman is believed to have been part of a unit from Ukraine's Ground Forces consisting of eight platoons of snipers - known as Pryvyd, or the ghost unit.
The mission is believed to have smashed the world record which was held by Viacheslav Kovalskyi, a Ukrainian who killed a Russian soldier back in 2023 from 12,467ft - over 2.3 miles.
Then of course you have Chris Kyle, who sniped an insurgent that was rushing an American convoy with an RPG. His target was 1.2 miles away.
The Texan Navy SEAL sniper served four tours during the Iraq War - and is believed to have saved dozens, if not hundreds, of American lives.
However, the former US veteran claimed to have racked up 255 kills in combat, although the US Department of Defense has only officially been able to confirm 160 of them.
Thanks to his bravery, the 2014 biopic American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper was made.
Having resigned from his duties in the field, he began running sponsored outings where he would meet veterans and take them hunting or to shooting ranges.
It was due to the 38-year-old's empathy that he met the man who would go on to murder him - Eddie Ray Routh.
He was an ex-marine who was in and out of hospital suffering with PTSD - due to him serving in Iraq and also helping in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.
Routh fired seven shots into the back, shoulder, head and hands of Chad Littlefield - Kyle's friend who was taking him out - before opening fire on Kyle unloading six bullets to his head, chest, shoulder and right arm.
Joe Yates