‘World’s deadliest’ sniper arrives in Ukraine to fight the Russians

One of the world’s deadliest snipers has arrived in Ukraine, vowing to fight the Russians as a volunteer fighter.

One of the world’s deadliest snipers has arrived in Ukraine, vowing to fight the Russians as a volunteer fighter.

The trained killer, nicknamed Wali, previously travelled to Iraq on his own to fight against ISIS in 2015, The Sun reports.

He crossed the border into Ukraine today, leaving his wife and infant son behind in Canada.

The 40-year-old was deployed twice to Afghanistan as a sniper with the Canadian Armed Forces between 2009 and 2011.

Wali fought in the same Canadian unit as the sniper with the world’s longest confirmed kill, of 3.5km.

He answered a call on Saturday from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who announced: “All foreigners wishing to join the resistance against the Russian occupiers and protect international security are invited by the Ukrainian government to come to our territory to join the ranks of our territorial forces.”

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One of the world’s deadliest snipers has arrived in Ukraine, vowing to fight the Russians as a volunteer fighter. Picture: Supplied

The sniper, whose nickname was given to him while in Afghanistan, said he was contacted by a friend on Friday who had been organising “neutral convoys” of humanitarian aid for several months to bring food to the occupied Donbas region.

“He told me they needed a sniper. It’s like a firefighter who hears the alarm ringing. I had to go,” Wali told French-Canadian publication La Presse.

He leaves behind his wife and baby son, who will celebrate his first birthday without him next week.

An Ukrainian soldier at a frontline, northeast of Kyiv. Picture: Aris Messinis/AFP

“I know, it’s just awful,” he said.

“But me, in my head, when I see the images of destructions in Ukraine, it is my son that I see, in danger and who is suffering.

“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 go there for humanitarian reasons.”

His wife, who asked to have her identity kept secret for security reasons, said she reluctantly allowed him to go.

“I knew that if I didn’t let him go, I would have broken him,” she said.

“It would have been like putting him in jail.”

Newly arrived refugees seek assistance from Polish army soldiers after crossing the border from Ukraine into Poland. Picture: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP

Wali told CBC that he and three other former Canadian soldiers who made the journey with him were greeted with hugs, handshakes, flags and photos by Ukrainians after they crossed the border.

“They were so happy to have us,” he said. “It’s like we were friends right away.”

He said he crossed over from Poland, travelling against the tide of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing in the opposite direction.

Wali, who fought alongside the Kurds against ISIS in Syria several years ago, said he had travelled to Ukraine because “I want to help them. It’s as simple as that.”

“I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian,” he added.

Since crossing into Ukraine, he and other veterans have taken shelter in an abandoned home, ahead of linking up with Ukrainian authorities.

Ukraine eventually hopes to build up a reserve unit of up to 10,000 officers and 120,000 volunteers.

Wali fought in the Royal Canadian 22nd Regiment, making tours of Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

In June 2017, one of his comrades reportedly shot dead an Islamic State terrorist from an incredible distance of 3450m.

A military source told the Toronto Globe and Mail at the time there was “hard data on this”.

“It isn’t an opinion. It isn’t an approximation. There is a second location with eyes on with all the right equipment to capture exactly what the shot was,” they said.

The unnamed sharpshooter used a McMillan Tac-50 firing a .50” Browning Machine Gun round.

Later, Wali became a computer scientist in Canada.

Even for an experienced combat veteran like Wali, the speed at which his life has changed in recent days is still shocking.

“A week ago I was still programming stuff,” he said. “Now I’m grabbing antitank missiles in a warehouse to kill real people … That’s my reality now.”

Before Wali’s comrade’s record, the world record for longest kill short was held by British soldier, Corporal of House Craig Harrison of the Blues and Royals.

Corporal Harrison killed two Taliban machine gunners at a distance of 2474m with a British Accuracy International L115A3.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as ‘World’s deadliest’ sniper arrives in Ukraine to fight the Russians