Bull's eye shot: HUR operative takes down Russian soldier at 2,069m
A sniper from the active operations unit at the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, call sign Lector, hit a Russian soldier at a range of 2,069 meters.
This was reported by the agency’s press service, Ukrinform saw.
The report says the confirmed record for the particular caliber belongs to the British sniper, Corporal from the Royal Guards Regiment Blues and Royals, Craig Harrison. In November 2009, during the war in Afghanistan, he hit two Taliban fighters at a range of 2,475 meters, also damaging their machine gun.
"Harrison fired while lying down, being in a significantly more elevated position than the target. Accuracy, according to the corporal, was also facilitated by calm weather and clear visibility. However, before hitting the target, the British sniper had to make nine adjusting shots," the HUR specified.
As noted, the Ukrainian sniper was actually on the same terrain level with the target, took aim in the harsh weather conditions of Ukrainian December, fired while standing in a trench, while the target was moving in a forest strip. The first shot was a hit, the agency stressed.
"In the conditions of modern warfare, you have no luxury of climbing out of the trench, lying down in a forest or such. Enemy drones don’t allow you to shoot from classic positions," the scout explained.
Lector’s record shot found praise from the HUR chief, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov.
"A work of art that will definitely go down in the history of our fight for freedom. Hitting a moving target at such a range is a huge achievement; evidence of high professionalism and focus, which Ukrainian military intelligence snipers are famous for. We continue our fight to eliminate even more Russian invaders," he stressed.
The intelligence also noted that in civilian life, Lector is a hunter. He joined the army along with his son. At first, he served in the reconnaissance unit in one of the territorial defense brigades, and since February 2023, he has been fighting in the ranks of the HUR active operations unit.
Lector also underwent a number of specialized military exercises, including HUR sniper training and the Pure Wrath training course from the "Come Back Alive competent army assistance fund.
Since the full-scale invasion, Lector has already hit over three dozen targets.
According to the sniper, he selects a particular type of rifle for each mission. The historic shot at 2,069 meters was made from a Sako M10 rifle with a .338LM bullet.
“But if I had a choice: a single rifle and one type of cartridge, I would take Cadex Kraken and the .338LM caliber,” noted Lector.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, Budanov donated a set of trophy combat knives to the National Museum of History of Ukraine in World War 2.
Illustrative photo