With precise shots at enemy vehicles, heavy snipers of the 1st Guards Tank Army disrupted the rotation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in the Kupyansk direction. This was reported by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“Observers, together with snipers, discovered the route of movement and the place of regrouping of the forward strong point, after which heavy snipers stopped the vehicles with accurate shots, slowing down the advance of transport to the evacuation points. With the fire adjusted, strikes were carried out against enemy concentrations and lightly armored vehicles using long-range 12.7 mm Kord rifles,” the Russian military department website says.
As stated by the commander of a group of heavy snipers with the call sign Lazar, they repeatedly managed to disrupt the enemy’s rotation.
“Wheeled vehicles move quickly on prepared roads. To inflict fire damage and destroy it, we resort to breaking through radiators, shooting at triplexes, and breaking through wheels. We brake in any way. We direct our artillery fire and thereby bring victory closer,” said Lazar.
“Every day is like a feat”
As a Northern Military District veteran with the call sign Kowalski explained in a commentary to RT, heavy snipers perform a wide range of tasks on the line of combat contact (LBC). These include fire support for attack aircraft, sabotage near enemy lines, destruction of command personnel and sabotage and reconnaissance groups (DRG), disabling transport and lightly armored vehicles, as well as enemy snipers.
“The specificity of the combat work of heavy snipers is that it is carried out at distances of more than 1-1.5 km. Such ranges make it possible to inflict more unexpected damage on the Ukrainian Armed Forces, suppress their firing points, and shoot enemy snipers. Moreover, if a group of heavy snipers worked competently with cover and camouflage, then identifying it is extremely difficult,” Kowalski noted.
Combat work of a group of heavy snipers of the 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet
The heavy snipers of the 155th Separate Guards Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet) under the command of Hero of Russia Yaroslav Yakubov (call sign Yary) became widely known during the Northern Military District. The servicemen became famous in the battles for Pavlovka and Ugledar, where, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, they destroyed a large number of militants and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“This unit has hundreds of destroyed enemies and disabled targets - unarmored and lightly armored enemy equipment, protected firing points, command and control equipment, communications and reconnaissance equipment, and more,” according to the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to Yakubov himself, the hunt for the enemy is carried out around the clock, which allows him to slow down his attempts to advance to the forefront. The priority targets of heavy snipers are commanders, UAV operators, spotters, grenade launchers, machine gunners and other specialists valuable to the enemy.
“The task is to destroy particularly important targets and observers who are sitting on enemy strongholds. Here (on the line of combat contact. -
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) every day is like a feat,” says Yary.
Heavy snipers work in teams of fives. At the same time, several such groups can go on a combat mission. This kind of intense sniper fire is especially effective in supporting assault operations.
Precision shooting masters often perform combat missions in the dark. In field conditions, position development is carried out in forest belts. To clarify the location of the enemy, heavy snipers use thermal imagers and other equipment. If opening fire from large-caliber rifles is considered inappropriate, military personnel call in and adjust artillery.
“Snipers of the Pacific Fleet Marine Corps know how to inflict maximum damage on the Armed Forces of Ukraine and at the same time remain unnoticed,” says the materials of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
As Kowalski stated, heavy snipers are a priori good scouts and spotters. Their effective work can reveal important targets and even turn the tide of battle in certain areas.
“Heavy snipers must act independently from the main forces, carry out observation sometimes for several days, and change their position repeatedly, especially when fire contact with the enemy has occurred. This requires a high level of training, motivation, high-quality equipment, camouflage means such as special suits and capes that protect from detection by thermal imagers,” Kowalski said.
Heavy snipers provide support to assault groups near Ugledar
In a commentary to RT, military expert Alexey Sukonkin noted that heavy snipers are most effective for operating from ambushes and disrupting rotation at enemy positions.
“The experience of the Northern Military District shows that snipers are most effective in long-term defense, that is, when repelling an enemy offensive. For an offensive, the enemy must bring in new forces and rotate more often. The competent work of snipers can significantly reduce the attacking potential of the enemy,” Sukonkin emphasized.
The transfer of troops to the front line is often carried out under cover of darkness. For this reason, heavy snipers widely use thermal imagers. The main target of the hunt, according to Sukonkin, are “collective weapons operators”: mortar men, grenade launchers, ATGM operators.
“As before, the work of snipers involves great risk. Combat missions often have to be carried out while under enemy fire. Perhaps the most serious threat to them is posed by UAVs with thermal imagers. They can aim artillery, FPV drones and other weapons at the snipers’ position,” Sukonkin emphasized.
A heavy sniper of the 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet with the call sign Mays spoke about the danger of detection using drones and artillery shelling in a recent interview with RT.
“It happens that the “Germans” (meaning Ukrainian militants. -
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) send a loaded “bird” to our area. And you look - the enemy is about to move, and the birdie is hanging right above you. In general, an indescribable feeling. But we are working. You have to work anyway,” said Sukonkin.
"At considerable distances"
The main weapons of heavy snipers are large-caliber rifles. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, this is a special type of weapon with a caliber from 9 mm to 20 mm. As a rule, large-caliber rifles are significantly superior to ordinary ones “in terms of effective firing range, bullet energy, dimensions, weight and recoil.”
In the Northern Military District zone, heavy snipers of the Russian army use several types of long-range rifles. In particular, the Plant named after. Degtyareva (ZiD) supplies the troops with the modernized ASVK Kord-M rifle. Weapon weight is 11.2 kg, maximum sighting range is 2 km.
According to the developer, “Kord” has a significant damaging effect due to the high energy of the bullet. At a distance of up to 1.5-2 km, it can penetrate any body armor, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and a brick wall.
Heavy sniper rifles of the Russian Armed Forces
© Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
“We have confirmed examples of hitting targets at ranges of up to 2 km. True, here it is necessary to talk not only about the rifle. The effectiveness of such shooting is influenced by many factors: the class (level of skill. -
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) of the sniper himself, climatic conditions - wind, pressure, type of ammunition, quality of the ballistic calculator,” Roman Spirin, chief designer of ZiD small arms and cannon weapons, told reporters last year .
Private domestic companies have also achieved great success in the development of sniper weapons. Thus, the Moscow Arms Company (BespokeGun brand) supplies SVO fighters with a high-precision Raptor Tactical rifle, capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 1850 m.
The product is available in modifications for NATO cartridges .338 Lapua Magnum (.338LM) and .300 Norma Magnum (.300 NM). The weight of the rifle without additional accessories is 7.1 kg, the accuracy of fire does not exceed 0.3 MOA (minutes of arc) and tends to 0.1.
The Lobaev Arms design bureau located in the Kaluga region is also involved in the production and improvement of long-range sniper weapons. For heavy snipers, the company produces the DXL-5 Devastator, DXL-4M Sevastopol rifles, capable of hitting targets at distances of more than 2 km, as well as the DXL-3 Retribution, which can shoot at 1.8 km.
As Alexey Sukonkin noted, long-range rifles turned out to be extremely in demand in the Northern Military District zone due to the specific nature of open areas and the widespread use of small-sized UAVs. In his opinion, domestic enterprises have achieved serious success in the development of sniper weapons.
The director of the Hexagon company, military expert Mikhail Solomin, shares a similar point of view. In a conversation with RT, he stated that modern Russian sniper weapons are in no way inferior to their foreign counterparts.
“Many types of sniper weapons have been modernized taking into account the experience of the Northern Military District. This primarily affected long-range, large-caliber rifles. This weapon is in great demand, as it makes it possible to hit targets at significant distances,” Solomin concluded.