Ukrainian Sniper Breaks Cover to Claim World-Record Hit of More Than 2 Miles – WSJ

KYIV The Ukrainian sniper had lain still for hours in near freezing temperatures when the command came to take the shot at a Russian soldier almost 2½ miles away. You can, his spotter said, and Vyacheslav Kovalskiy pulled his trigger.

The bullet took around nine seconds to reach its target, who doubled up and fell, according to a video of the shot reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Kovalskiy and Ukraine say the shot set a new sniping distance record, breaking the previously acknowledged mark by more than 850 feet.

While combat hits such as this aren t verified by a third-party adjudicator, the shot has offered Ukraine a morale boost when the country s forces are struggling to make headway at the front line. A Ukrainian sniper, using a Ukrainian-made weapon and bullet, had broken the record. Sniping has played a prominent role in the war with Russia, where static front lines in a flat landscape suit the discipline, even as drones and mines change the way the marksmen operate.

via www.wsj.com