‘The neatest job is to finish him with a single, accurate shot’: Ukrainian sniper named ‘Ghost’ reveals how he killed 147 Russian soldiers with lethal shots from up to 1.5 km away

A Ukrainian sniper named ‘Ghost’ has revealed how he is responsible for the deaths of 147 Russian soldiers by firing fatal shots from up to 1.5km away.

The unnamed sniper and commander of the ‘Ghosts of Bakhmut’ also claimed that he and his elite unit had crossed as many as 1,200 targets eliminated in just 17 months.

Speaking to Corriere, Ghost simply said that “killing an enemy soldier is a normal job,” explaining how he aims, ensures he’s in range and can’t be spotted.

‘The best thing is to finish him with a single, accurate shot. After that I have no more reservations: woe is me, if I don’t kill the Russians, they will kill me,” he said.

The squad’s kills are recorded electronically using the sights of their guns, and the unit then remains in position for three to five hours to ensure their prey has been neutralized.

The Bakhmut Ghosts consist of around twenty expert snipers and are currently deployed on the front lines of Pokrovsk, in the heart of Donbass, where the Ukrainians are losing ground every day under the pressure of Russian offensives.

They are all professional soldiers and have fought for their country in some of the most crucial battles since the war broke out in February 2022.

The squad is stationed in Bucha, Irpin, the Mariupol area, Sumy and the Northern Front, and then to Kharkov, the Bakhmut and Avdiivka clashes.

An elite sniper known as Ghost (right) has revealed he killed 147 Russian soldiers with shots fired from up to 1.5 km away

The unnamed commander also claims his unit has crossed as many as 1,200 targets eliminated in just 17 months.

The elite team required ten months of training before deploying to Bakhmut.

Ghost, who keeps his face hidden from the public eye, explained that this is an attempt to keep his daughter Vladislava, 13, safe because “the Russians might look for her and harm her to punish me.” – considering his status as one of the best Ukrainian snipers.

He told the Italian newspaper: ‘The secret of a good sniper is having the patience to wait. There is no point in shooting a lot, it can even be very dangerous.’

The Ghost killed a Russian soldier at an impressive distance of 1.5 km – his personal best, although the majority of his shots are between 300 and 500 meters.

He also claims that his team pulled off one of the largest sniper kills in history, with a confirmed target 2.4 kilometers away, or three times the length of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

The commander explained that during missions, squads usually move out in patrols of eight – consisting of two snipers, two communications and drone officers, three with machine guns for cover, and one who takes charge of the rapid evacuation.

During the 48-hour missions, they carry bags on their backs that weigh 30 kg and can become even heavier in winter due to the heating equipment.

“We leave the jeeps five to six kilometers from the area of ​​operations and march silently, at some distance, often far beyond the Russian front lines,” he said.

He and his team said they typically hunt high-value Russian targets from a typical range of about 70 meters and are often thrown into “hotspots” as a vanguard for Ukraine’s counteroffensive actions.

“If an offensive or counter-offensive is planned, our job is to first go in and clear the area,” the anonymous commander told Insider last year.

The unit’s snipers often have to wait in one position for up to 16 hours a day and must be very well camouflaged.

The unit’s snipers often have to wait in one position for up to 16 hours a day and must be very well camouflaged.

The unit is known to use the UAR-10, a Ukrainian rifle

Their main weapon is the American Barrett M107A1, although members will also use the Barrett MRAD, as well as some Ukrainian rifles, including the UAR-10 and the Snipex Alligator.

The effective range of the Barrett M107A1, considered the most powerful weapon used by the Ghosts, is 1.84 miles according to the owner’s manual, while the maximum range is 4.99 kilometers.

Speaking of the grueling work – Ghost previously said: ‘It’s nothing like American films that romanticize the work of snipers and show it as very glamorous.’

He said most of the unit’s work is based on survival.

‘You learn to count, you do math. You learn to camouflage yourself, you learn about the environment. You can shoot well, but if you can’t survive, it’s of no value.’

‘We work 24 hours a day, we make no distinction between day and night. There are no weekends. You’re completely exhausted, all the juices have been squeezed out of you, and when you come back from a mission, you’re a complete mess.”

Ghost, an entrepreneur in another life, said he has worked as a sniper since 2014, signing up for military service after Russia illegally annexed Crimea and receiving sniper training from British, American, Canadian and Lithuanian instructors in 2016.

He confirmed that the squad’s training has been put to good use as no member of his team has died.

Kills made by the squad, which is named after their leader, are recorded electronically using the sights of their guns

The sniper said that so far only he and another gunman have been injured during a mission in which a mine exploded near him, sending shrapnel into his leg.

This injury left him in the hospital for twelve days.

He said the key to the unit’s success is that it is a cohesive and self-sufficient group that all believes wholeheartedly in the cause of Ukraine.

‘I have absolute confidence in every man who works with me.

‘We are absolutely self-reliant. Every part of our job is fulfilled by our own members: we have our own drivers, we have our own truck repairers, everything we do, we do ourselves.

‘We are not dependent on anyone outside our unit. That’s probably why we’re all still alive and together.”

‘Courage is something that can be cherished. You have to be tough, you have to be very resilient, very focused, psychologically very resilient and of course patriotic.

“This aspect of patriotism is very important because a person must understand why he or she is doing it.”

But despite the group’s success and skills, Ghost warned that all is not well in Pokrosk.

‘The Russians are constantly attacking. They seem to have an infinite number of drones, almost all of them superior to ours. “I don’t know how it will end,” he said.