4 km shot: Ukrainian sniper breaks global record near Pokrovsk
Illustrative photo: A sniper of the Armed Forces of Ukraine broke a world record by destroying the occupiers near Pokrovsk (t me landforcesofukraine)
In recent days, fighters from the Pryvyd sniper special unit set a world record for the longest confirmed sniper shot. The target was hit at a distance of 4,000 meters, according to Defense Express.
According to the outlet, the sniper made the shot from an Alligator rifle with a 14.5 mm caliber. The bullet eliminated two Russian occupiers in the Pokrovsk direction.
Interestingly, the previous record also belonged to Ukrainians: not long ago, a soldier of the Security Service of Ukraine eliminated an occupier at a distance of 3,800 meters with a Ukrainian-made rifle called Volodar Obriyu (Lord of the Horizon).
What is known about the Alligator
The Alligator rifle is of Ukrainian production. It is manufactured by the Kharkiv-based company KhADO Holding. This is a magazine-fed rifle which, with a 14.5 mm caliber, has a barrel length of 1,200 mm, providing an initial bullet speed of 980–1000 m/s.
The rifle weighs 25 kg, which is considered normal for this caliber.
"With a lighter rifle, the recoil would be much more noticeable, even considering the muzzle brake and the recoil spring in the stock," Defense Express emphasized.
At the same time, back in 2021 the manufacturer stated that the effective firing range of the Alligator was 2 kilometers. The weapon itself was positioned as designed to target inanimate objects.
"That is why such rifles were called "anti-materiel." But real life has shown not only completely different requirements, but also the true capabilities of Ukrainian weapons, which have far exceeded the expectations of their creators," the analysts wrote.
Experts explain that 4 km is far from the limit for this rifle. In fact, a bullet fired from it can travel up to 7 km. However, the main limiting factor is accuracy: already at a distance of 1.5 km, the deviation from the target can reach a circle with a diameter of about one meter. Therefore, at a range of 4 km, it likely took a series of shots to achieve a successful result.
Earlier we reported that a special forces fighter of the Main Intelligence Directorate set a sniper record. The soldier, with the call sign "Lector," eliminated an occupier with a .338LM round at a distance of 2,069 meters.
As a reminder, RBC-Ukraine also reported that in November 2023, Ukrainian soldier Viacheslav Kovalskyi set a world sniper record. At that time, he eliminated a Russian officer at a distance of 3,800 meters.
