Barrett MRAD & M4A1 in Action: Story of Ukraine's Top Sniper from Special Operations Forces

What does the work of the world's top military professionals look like from behind the scenes? He's a sniper by profession. His call sign is Taras. He's been at war for years already. The special operations forces call him one of the best snipers in Ukraine, and thus in the world. In Bakhmut, my comrade was wounded by a Russian. I tracked him down and hit him just when he was shooting with an RPG. Then I went to my wounded friend, showed him the video, and said, he's done. I took revenge for you. The primary rifle in my group is Barrett Amrad. We also have Italian Victrix, Canadian Cadix, and English Akris Internationals. In my opinion, the best rifles for the military are Barrett and Akris International. They say that there is beauty in simplicity, and the Barrett Amrad rifle embodies simplicity. It is rugged, durable, waterproof, and multi-caliber. It takes only three minutes to unscrew two bolts and set up another barrel, and even the aim point remains the same. The UR-10 is a very high-quality Ukrainian rifle that we've been using since 2016. I like this weapon, and it's a great choice for urban warfare. In Hostomel, we set up an ambush, and one of our team members had a UR-10. While we managed to take three shots, he made ten. The distance was short, allowing him to shoot, reload, and shoot again efficiently and quickly. It's a great modern weapon. Sometimes we could harass the enemy's positions to the point where they were afraid to go there. We heard an intercept. Keep your heads down, there's a sniper. Our presence has a psychological effect on both the enemy and our infantry. We've had cases when we arrived at a position where an enemy sniper had killed one of our soldiers. The guys were really depressed and angry, hardly talking. But when we arrived, shot the orcs, and showed them that someone could stand up for the infantry, the soldiers were immediately uplifted morale-wise. Snipers are the elite of any army. Becoming a professional sniper requires years of training and tens of thousands of dollars. This is the gear I use on my missions. Body armor with plates and pouches, a standard M4A1 rifle, a helmet with an active noise reduction and a night vision device. Our ghillie suits are lightweight and compact. My primary weapon is a Barrett M-Red sniper rifle in .338 caliber with an Austrian Coles scope. We also use Evictronics, Kestrel weather system with applied ballistics. Additionally, we use a belt. We carry a handgun, a first aid kit, and four tourniquets. The war is currently very intense, and the enemy can attack at any time, jump into a trench, or get up close. Having rifles would be inconvenient in such situations. So we also carry a handgun and an M4 automatic rifle for close range defense. Modern gear such as thermal imagers, rangefinders, weather stations, and scopes has made the work of snipers easier. However, there's also a downside, as snipers are always a high priority target for the enemy. Once a sniper measured the distance to a tank using a rangefinder, modern tanks are equipped with systems that can detect rangefinders, causing them to immediately rotate their guns and fire. This is how the snipers died. One of the red lines we adhere to is that we never measure the distance to equipment, as it is prohibited. A good sniper has to be able to find a good position, set it up, make an accurate shot, and retreat skillfully. The shot itself is just a small part of the job. The position must be set up allowing you to eat, drink, retreat, and approach unnoticed. If your position requires you to remain still for 10 hours, it's not a good one. The position should be suitable for both shooting and basic comfort. You have to be able to crawl away to relieve yourself. The ideal sniper position is a high-rise building. You're inside the building with other structures around. This provides room to move, and artillery isn't as intimidating. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we actively used ambushes, for example, near Kyiv in Hostomel. We shot more than 20 orcs then. We didn't even count. The battle was so intense. Only afterward did we analyze and confirm. I shot this one, this one's mine. Movies often depict snipers lying motionless in an ambush, waiting for the enemy before taking a shot to the head. However, in reality, it's not quite like that. The realities of war have shown that we only shoot from a line position about 10% of the time, because the grass is now tall. In my unit, we shoot about 80% while standing, 10% while sitting, and 10% while lying down. The rifle weighs 10 kilograms, but we use modern carbon fiber tripods. We take two of them, set up the weapon, clamp it down, and can stand like that all night. A sniper aims where they can maximize their chances of success. If you have a clear view of the center mass, it's better to aim there. For instance, if a man is visible at 500 meters in full length, I won't aim at the head. I'll shoot at the center, where the probability of hitting is the highest. Another misconception is about the lone sniper. In fact, a professional sniper never goes on a mission alone. There's always a partner. The first priority for a sniper is to save their partner. After that, they focus on their own safety. Only after that comes the weapon. Our rule is to always prioritize saving people. We can get a rifle later, but the people come first. Snipers have their own telltale signs. For instance, if you arrive at the position and a mortar is firing upon you, you have done a poor job with the disguise. If you can see the enemy clearly, it's likely that they can see you as well. However, the most crucial thing is to communicate with the infantry, so that they don't mention on the radio that snipers have arrived. As if they do, when we move to our positions, there are two likely scenarios. Either we're immediately targeted by artillery fire, or everyone goes into hiding, leaving no one. We have been following Russian snipers and their competitions even before the full-scale invasion. In Russia, the level of sniping expertise is quite high, and they use only western equipment, American scopes, bullets, and barrels. But for some reason, there were fewer snipers at the last competition. Something must have happened. So, what distances do modern snipers shoot at? When a sniper claims right from the start that they can hit at 1600 meters or 1900 meters, it's clear this person is not a professional. A true professional wouldn't make such claims up front. I once made a shot at a distance of 1595 meters, although it took me three attempts to get it right. But my most memorable shot was during an ambush in Hostomel. The distance was just about 130 meters, and I never expected to use such a heavy rifle at such a short distance. It felt like a scene from the movies. You aim and you hit. There were so many enemies that we just kept firing and firing and firing. In our unit, we always use video confirmation. If there's no video proof, it means you didn't hit the target. We don't learn much from hitting, we learn from missing. I believe that Ukrainians are the best snappers in the world. There hasn't been a war like this since World War II, and we have many professionals who can shoot with precision and hit their targets. To our enemies, I can only say we will find all of you, and we will make you pay.