Ukrainian sniper claims new world record
after 'picking off Russian soldier from
2.36 miles away using "Lord of the Horizon" gun'

Mm hmm....Until this is verified by someone other than the DM, I'll put this is the same category as that fake Ghost of Ukraine fighter ace from the beginning of the conflict.

Such bragging is an evil sickness.

If the Ukrainians are doing as well against the Russians as this article and the videos on YouTube show, we should be able to stop our involvement, and quit sending borrowed money!

Ennnnh... maybe. It's a miracle shot if it did happen. 2+ miles of wind, the target possibly moving during the seconds it takes the bullet to get there, etc. Either way, unverifiable. And ultimately irrelevant as that wont be the magic bullet that saves Ukraine.

Who paid for the rifle?

Brandon did #5 using taxpayer money.

Bullcrap.

I tend to doubt this report, even though it's not impossible. The .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) round from the Barrett M-107 sniper rifle is a hoss. Will it cover three miles in the air? Oh sure, easily. But it's not the only long range choice. Hitting a person at over two miles distance requires great skill and greater luck. .408 Chey Tac might be slightly superior ballistically. (No experience in long distance shooting with me, just reading Stephen Hunter novels and picking up details.) And the world record shot (on a steel target) is 4.4 miles* 7,744 yards, achieved on the 69th shot. The bullet took 24 seconds to cover the distance. I'm not sure what caliber and what rifle was used. It was a hoss, too. *https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nD53r3uLE5U

Excellent shooting. A number of retired US and British special ops soldiers have been in Ukraine teaching sniping skills to Ukrainians. Having had a bit of training last year by a SEAL sniper instructor (retired) myself, and gotten hits pretty easily at 1000 yds, about 1/4th the distance, I have a feeling for what it takes. Firfteen years of long range rifle competition out to 500 yards help as a baseline of shooting skills. This requires absolutely top notch equipment, rifle, ammo and scope, and a lot of shooting skill, but also, either a windless day, or a couple of shots to "scout the wind". All the variables can be controlled today....except the wind. The wind can only be known at the shooter's position. Snipers work in teams and at the first shot, the spotter calls where the hit went and the shooter is waiting for the call to make a correction and fire the second shot. This is exactly how the Canadian sniper made his shot. Not clear from the typical DM shooting story muddle what cartridge was used, but most likely a .50 BMG, developed by legendary firearms designer John Browning during WW1 and still used in our heavy machine guns, and in extreme range sniping rifles. Advances in rangefinders, the optics, ammunition and in handheld computers which will calculate bullet drop based on many variables. Even then....the wind it the unknown. Sniping took place at 100-200 yds in WW1, and somewhat longer at WW2, but by Vietnam, a USMC sniping legend made a .50 caliber machine gun into a sniping rifle, and made a 2,000 yard shot. Regular rifles routinely engaged at 500-800 meters. Today's sniping rifles and optics make 1,000 yard shots, under light and wind good conditions, very doable by any skilled rifleman. This is about 4,000 yards.....extreme range by any standard.

I'm not so sure I idolize snipers as many do, as they do their killing from a safe distance and have little skin in the game. Still, thats an amazing shot. If you put me in a barn I'd manage to miss the wall.

From that distance, how did he know it was a Russian?

RE #11. A man, in a Russian uniform, in a Russian trench line position, operating Russian weapons that are firing at Ukrainians......is almost 100% certain to be a Russian. And even if he's not Russian, he's definitely an "enemy combatant".