The Russian position was marked with the blue flag of Moscow¡¯s elite airborne units, but the fabric looked almost translucent through the Ukrainian sniper¡¯s scope.

The flag, atop a Russian-occupied building in southern Ukraine, was just over 1 mile away. If a Russian soldier appeared, it would take roughly 4 seconds for the sniper¡¯s heavy-caliber bullet to reach the man¡¯s chest.

¡°They move around in the morning and in the evening,¡± said Bart, the leader of the four-man sniper team.