One of his comrades is said to possess the world record for longest ever shot, coming in at more than 2 miles away
One of the world’s deadliest snipers is answering President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for assistance in Ukraine to fight the continued Russian invasion.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy made another desperate plea for international combat-ready soldiers to join his army in repelling Russian forces who began their siege on February 24.
Known only as “Wali”, the sniper’s time in the Royal Canadian 22nd Regimen is legendary. Having fought in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2011, the 40-year-old took it upon himself to fight Islamic State forces within Iraq in 2015.
One of his comrades is said to possess the world record for longest ever shot, coming in at more than 2 miles away.
Wali had been working as a computer programmer in Canada when he got the call, which he describes as “like a firefighter who hears the alarm ringing.” He was contacted by a friend who was arranging “neutral humanitarian aid convoys” for the separatist-controlled Donbas region.
Now, Wali is some 4,800 miles away from his wife and child.
“A week ago I was still programming stuff. Now I’m grabbing anti-tank missiles in a warehouse to kill people… That’s my reality right now,” he told CBC News. “I know it’s just awful, but me, in my head, when I see images of destruction in Ukraine, it is my son that I see, in danger and who is suffering.”
Wali’s wife, whose identity is a secret, said she was reluctant to let him leave, but knew keeping him would have been like “putting him in jail.”
Wali arrived in rural Ukraine on March 4 alongside three other former Canadian soldiers. “I want to help them. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
He continued: “When I see a destroyed building, it is the person who owns it, who sees his pension fund go up in smoke, that I see.
“I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian.
“I’m going there for humanitarian reasons.”
Wali and his comrades are planning to join the Ukrainian defence forces soon.
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