Deadly Canadian sniper 'Wali' joins Ukraine foreign legion to fight Putin's invaders

10 March 2022, 08:13

A deadly Canadian sniper has arrived in Ukraine to take the fight to Russia as Kyiv's "foreign legion" grows.

The sharpshooter, who goes under the nom-de-guerre Wali, said he wanted to help Ukrainians who did not deserve to be bombed "just because they want to be European and not Russian".

"A week ago I was still programming stuff," the veteran, who was part of the Canadian Royal 22e Regiment, said.

"Now I'm grabbing anti-tank missiles in a warehouse to kill real people…that's my reality right now."

Wali left behind his wife and one-year-old son to travel to Ukraine after Kyiv announced it had created an "international legion" for foreign volunteers to join and fight against Vladimir Putin's invasion.

His wife reportedly said to stop him leaving to join the fight would be like keeping him in prison.

As a Canadian sniper, Wali is among prestigious colleagues. A Canadian special forces operator holds the record for the longest confirmed kill shot, eliminating an Isis militant from 3,540 metres in 2017.

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The kill, in Iraq, surpassed British sharpshooter Craig Harrison's, who shot dead a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan in 2009 from 2,475 metres.

Among those to sign up are reportedly four British soldiers who have gone AWOL to take part, with media saying that one of them in a teenage soldier in the Coldstream Guards who has left his ceremonial Queen's Guard duty to sign up.

Wali, which means "protector" or "guardian" in Arabic, is a veteran of Canada's Afghanistan campaign in Kandahar province.

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He previously volunteered with the Kurdish resistance against Isis in Iraq, CBC in Canada reports. The corporation left out his name to protect his family.

He was joined by three other ex-Canadian military servicemen, and said they were embraced with hugs and handshakes upon arriving in Ukraine.

"They were so happy to have us. It's like we were friends right away," he said.

"I want to help them. It's as simple as that."

The UK Ministry of Defence warned British soldiers that they are banned from going to Ukraine.

The Sun said the 19-year-old Coldstream Guardsman wrote a goodbye letter to his parents before travelling to Poland. Authorities were racing to try and intercept them.

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, urged people not to fight in Ukraine, threatening them with the prospect of a court martial for desertion – despite foreign secretary Liz Truss initially saying she backed the idea.

It has been claimed some 20,000 foreigners from 52 countries have signed up for Ukraine's international legion.