Russian vs Ukrainian Marksman Rifles
While the Russian-Ukrainian War rages on, many of us gun nuts have started to notice quite a few unique weapons popping up in footage and pictures on the internet. One batch of weapons has proven to be rather unique on both sides: sniper rifles. Russian and Ukrainian snipers have been spotted with a wide array of weaponry, some vintage and recognizable, others carrying brand new technology that hasn’t been shown to the majority before this war. Let’s look into a few of the weapons we’ve spotted on the battlefield.
Russian Marksman Rifles
Russian forces are carrying a wide variety of weaponry in this war, and there is no singular Russian sniper rifle that is being seen, instead a wide variety of weapons are popping up in a wide variety of chamberings. Let’s have a look at some of them.
Orsis T-5000M Terminator “Tochnost”
Photo Credit: The Firearm Blog
The Orsis T-5000M Terminator (Tochnost) has been spotted many times and that makes perfect sense considering it is a more recently adopted modern Russian sniper rifle. The
Orsis T-5000M is chambered in; .308 Winchester, .300 Win Mag, 338 Lapua, .260 Remington, and 6.5x47 Lapua this rifle seems to be a pretty solid multipurpose modern Russian sniper rifle. Side note? The Orsis T5000 M is aesthetically beautiful and I want one.
Lobaev Arms DXL-4 Sevastopol
Photo Credit: Artem Portnov
Another rifle that’s been spotted on the battlefield is the Lobaev Arms DXL-4 Sevastopol. The Lobaev Arms DXL-4 is billed as an ultra-long range rifle, making it an excellent choice as yet another modern Russian sniper rifle. Chambered in either .408 CheyTac or .375 CheyTac, the
Lobaev DXL-4 Sevastopol seems like an excellent rifle for extreme long ranges.
Kalashnikov Chukavin SVCh
Photo Credit: Kalashnikov Media
The new direct replacement for the aging Dragunov SVD Sniper rifle, the newest modern Russian sniper rifle is the Kalashnikov Chukavin SVCh. Chambered in 6.72x54R and .338 Lapua, The
Kalashnikov Chukavin SVCh seems to be filling the squad semi-automatic designated marksman role for Russian forces.
Lobaev Arm DXL-5 Havoc
Photo Credit: Top War
Another Loabaev makes the list with the DXL-5 Havok. The DXL-5 Havok appears to be an ultra-long range anti-material modern Russian sniper rifle. Chambered in 12.7x99mm, .50 BMG or 12.7x108, the
Lobaev Arms DXL-5 Havok is a fearsome addition to the Russian arsenal.
OSV-96
Photo Credit: Sputnik News
The OSV-96 is an anti-material rifle from KBP Instrument Design Russia. The OSV-96 fires the fearsome 12.7x108mm Soviet cartridge and is said to be accurate at distances over 2 miles. The OSV 96 is supposedly only in use by Russian special units and only a couple have been spotted thus far on the battlefield. The OSV 96 is a gas-operated, semi-automatic Russian sniper rifle.
Dragunov SVU
Photo Credit: Special Ops
The SVD Dragunov sniper rifle hardly needs any introduction to most shooters. The Dragunov SVD is one of Russia’s longest running sniper and designated marksman weapons. The SVD Dragunov sniper is chambered in 7.62mm x 54r and is based off of the AK-47 platform - serving the Russian military since the early 60’s. The
SVD Dragunov sniper has officially been replaced by the Kalashnikov Chukavin SVCh, but given the amount of these rifles still in service, the SVD Dragunov sniper remains a major player for Russian forces still - with no signs of being phased out for quite some time.
MTs-116M
Photo Credit: Top War
While bolt-action rifles don’t seem to be very prevalent in the category of the modern Russian sniper rifle, a few are still in use apparently. The MTs-116M suppressed sniper rifle is chambered in 7.62mm x 54r yet again developed by a company called TsKIB SOO. An unsuppressed variant is available, but it seems like the only ones being spotted in the wild with Russian forces are the integrally suppressed versions. The MTs-116m Suppressed sniper rifle is a very unique weapon aesthetically, as shown below.
Mosin Nagant
Photo Credit: The Truth About Guns
Quite the throwback here, but the WWII-era Mosin Nagant rifle has been spotted quite a few times in the Russian-Ukrainian War. The
Mosin Nagant Sniper PU M91/30 version has been spotted with many Russian separatist groups which leads me to believe the Russians are arming them with whatever they can find laying around and saving the modern Russian sniper rifle models for their own snipers. Chambered in 7.62mm x 54r, this rifle might be dated but still is a force to be reckoned with in the right hands.
Ukrainian Marksman Rifles
Before we get into the roll of Ukrainian sniper rifle models, it’s important to note that many countries have been sending arms to the Ukrainian military to support their war effort. Because of this, many different rifles have been spotted in the hands of Ukrainian snipers during this war. In the effort to keep this article manageable, we’re going to focus on what might be considered a batch of standard Ukrainian sniper rifles.
Zbroyar Z-008
Photo Credit: LSB Malta
A bolt-action chambered in many different calibers, the Zbroyer Z-008 has been spotted many times in use by Ukrainian snipers. These rifles are almost entirely made to order and built in Kiev, Ukraine. It is widely believed the Ukrainian military’s versions are chambered in .308 Winchester.
Snipex Alligator
Photo Credit: Shooter Space
When the war first broke out everyone online was hearing rumors of a fearsome Ukrainian Alligator sniper rifle. We now know this weapon to be the
Snipex Alligator sniper rifle. This enormous anti-material Ukrainian sniper rifle is 79 inches long and chambered in the equally massive 14.5x114mm cartridge, each of which weighs 2.2 ounces. The Snipex Alligator sniper rifle is rumored to be able to punch holes in tanks.
Zbroyar Z-10
Photo Credit: The Firearm Blog
Another Ukrainian sniper rifle that might look familiar is the Zbroyar Z-10. Based on the AR-10, the Zbroyar Z 10 is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. The Zbroyar Z-10 is essentially a Ukrainian AR-10 that fills the designated marksman role for Ukrainian military forces.
VPR-338
Photo Credit: Skrynka Pandory
The VPR-338 Ukrainian sniper rifle is currently seeing quite a bit of action in this war. The VPR-338 is chambered in .338 Lapua or .308 Winchester (designated as VPR-308) and produced in Kiev by a state-owned company called Ukroboronprom. The bolt-action VPR-338 has been in service since 2014.
Sako TRG 42
Photo Credit: Sniper Central
From Finland comes the Sako TRG 42 sniper rifle. The Sako TRG-42 is chambered in .300 Win Mag or .338 Lapua. One interesting fact about the Sako TRG-42 Sniper rifle is that it is currently in service with the Canadian sniper known as “Wali” who is volunteering with the Ukrainian Army currently. Wali is currently noted as one of the deadliest snipers in the world.
Savage 110 Carbon Tactical
Photo Credit: Peter T
It might seem odd to see a Savage rifle on this list, but the Ukrainians are using the Savage 110 Carbon Tactical currently in their defense. The Savage 110 Carbon Tactical is chambered in .308 Winchester and has been photographed multiple times in action.
Savage 110 Elite Precision
Photo Credit: Armourers Bench
No need to be surprised, here's another Savage that has been spotted on the battlefield and it's the Savage 110 Elite Precision. A bolt-action chamber in .308 Winchester, the Savage 110 Elite Precision has been spotted multiple times as well as its counterpart listed above, the Savage 110 Carbon Tactical.
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We hope this was an interesting little exploration of sniper rifles of the Russian-Ukrainian War. There certainly are some unique sniper rifles being used on both sides of the conflict. Thanks for spending a bit of your day with us here at 5D Tactical. Feeling like building your own sniper platform? Why not check out our selection of AR-10 build kits and build the perfect custom long range rifle! Until next time!
