I’m the ‘Ghost of Bakhmut’ who’s killed 113 of Putin’s troops in meatgrinder war…how my elite snipers hunt down invaders
AN ELITE Ukrainian soldier, known as Ghost, has claimed he’s killed 113 of Putin’s troops in the last nine months alongside his elite team of snipers.
His extraordinary sniper squad, the Ghosts of Bakhmut, have killed 558 Russian soldiers combined in the brutal year-long fight for the city.
The team, made up of a few dozen highly trained fighters, is led by Commander Ghost who fancies himself as one of the best sharpshooters on the planet.
The squad is widely seen as Ukraine’s most important soldiers with them hunting for high-value Russian targets as the brave countries counteroffensive actions continue to step up.
Ghost said his team are the first to go into places and clear the area of any threats.
Up to 16 hours a day in full camouflaged gear the snipers stay still as they wait for their target, typically with an American Barrett M107A1 in hand.
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Despite them being the weapon of choice, Barrett MRAD’s and some Ukrainian rifles, like the UAR-10 and the Snipex Alligator can also be used.
The powerful Barrett M107A1, is thought to be one of the most powerful weapons the Ghosts use, with a 2.49 miles maximum range.
Kills made by the squad get recorded electronically using their rifles.
The anonymous hero said that the deadly work is tough and is mentally draining for anyone, including war specialists.
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He told : “It's nothing like American films that romanticise the work of snipers and show it as very glamorous.
“You learn how to calculate, you do the math.
“You learn how to camouflage yourself, you learn about the environment.
“You can shoot perfectly well, but if you can't survive, there is no value in that.”
He went on to explain their gruelling schedule further and what happens when the soldiers return from the suitably named meatgrinder war.
Ghost said: “We work 24 hours a day, we don't differentiate between day or night and there are no weekends.
“You're totally exhausted, all the juices are squeezed out of you, and when you come back from a mission, you're a complete mess.”
Coming back from a mission can often be the hardest part as the squad try to come back to normality after the brutality they’ve just caused.
Ghost’s hardened exterior isn’t always on show, with him admitting to being a songwriter in his spare time and singing whenever he can.
His young daughter also phones him as often as possible so he can be reminded of what he’s fighting for.
Another surprisingly emotional thing about the killer troop is their love of dogs.
A pet husky named Lola is used as a morale booster with Ghost calling her the teams anti-depressant.
The elite squad needed 10 months of training before they were sent to fight in war torn Bakhmut.
Those useful months have led to all the soldiers still being alive today, a rare thing in such an unforgiving job.
Only two have been injured, with Ghost being hit by shrapnel after a mine exploded near him, taking him out of action for just 12 days.
He said that the key to success in a job like theirs is to be a tight-knit, self-sufficient group who all wholeheartedly believe in Ukraine's fight for freedom.
He said: “I am absolutely confident in each and every man who works with me.
“We are absolutely self-reliant.
“Every element of our task is fulfilled by our own members — we have our own drivers, we have our own truck repairers, everything that we do, we are doing ourselves.
“We are not relying on anyone outside of our unit which is probably why we are all still alive and together.”
When asked what makes a good soldier and someone he’d want to go into battle with Ghost named bravery, resilience, focus and patriotism as his ideal traits.
He's been a sniper since 2014, after signing up for military service after Russia illegally annexed Crimea.
He’s trained with British, US, Canadian and Lithuanian instructors since 2016 giving him the tools needed to fight for Ukraine.
Ghost also claims to have the furthest sniper kill in history as he killed a man 1.5miles away before, a snipe further than three Burj Khalifa’s laid next to each other.
But according to Ukrainian officials it doesn’t rank near the top three.
The second-longest sniper kill clocks in at 1.7 miles away and was executed last year.
Extraordinary footage showed the moment the Ukrainian sharpshooter reportedly took the shot from an impressive distance of 8,891ft - the length of 26 Wembley football pitches.
The current standing world record is 3,540 metres, made by a Canadian special operations sniper in Iraq in 2017.
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Putin’s troops have been picked off during the war so far with an incredible Ukrainian sniper allegedly managing to take out two Russian troops with a single bullet as he shot five men in five minutes.
Ukraine's special forces - which released the extraordinary clip that can be found online- said three of Putin's goons were killed and two wounded in the exchange.
