Ukraine's "Pryvyd" (Ghost) sniper unit has claimed to have set the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill, shooting down two Russian soldiers from a distance of around 4 kilometres. The shot, fired from a Ukrainian-made 14.5mm "Alligator" rifle, was guided to its target with the help of artificial intelligence and drones, according to a report by Defense Express.
A video of the military action is being widely circulated on social media, showing the moment a Ukrainian soldier fired the "historic" shot near the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine during fighting on August 14.
Ukraine's former deputy minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, shared the video on X and wrote, "A Ukrainian sniper from the Pryvyd (Ghost) group made the first successful shot in the history of wars using artificial intelligence, eliminating two Russian occupiers in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad direction."
A historic sniper shot at a record distance of 4,000 meters!
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 15, 2025
A Ukrainian sniper from the Pryvyd (Ghost) group made the first successful shot in the history of wars using artificial intelligence, eliminating two Russian occupiers in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad direction.
The unique… https://t.co/102ULlYDuA pic.twitter.com/Afh8jRto7V
"The unique shot, made without line of sight, was guided by a UAV system and fired from a 14.5 mm Aligator rifle equipped with a Ukrainian-made thermal imaging sight," he added.
The previous world record for a confirmed sniper kill from the largest distance was also held by a Ukrainian soldier, Viacheslav Kovalskyi. The 58-year-old veteran sniper from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reportedly killed a Russian troop from a distance of 3.8 kilometres in November 2023, using a UK-made Horizon's Lord sniper rifle. Last week's shot reportedly beat the previous world record.
According to Ukrainian military expert Yuri Butusov, the bullet went through the window behind which the Russian soldiers were standing.
About The "Alligator" Rifle
The "Alligator" rifle is a 14.5mm calibre sniper rifle with a muzzle velocity of between 3,215 and 3,281 feet per second, according to Defense Express report.
It is manufactured by Kharkiv-based arms company XADO-Holding and has an effective range of 1.2 miles. The rifle weighs 25 kilograms, and was reportedly designed to disable equipment rather than kill targets.
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