A former sniper from the Royal 22nd Regiment of the Canadian Army arrived in Ukraine earlier this week to help the country defend itself against Russian forces, according to CBC.
While fighting in the Afghanistan War, he was known simply as Wali, one of the deadliest snipers in the world. He and three other former Canadian soldiers left Poland for Ukraine on March 2 after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for volunteers to help fight on March 1.
Upon arriving in Ukraine, Wali told CBC that he and the other soldiers received a warm welcome.
"They were so happy to have us," Wali said. "It's like we were friends right away."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on March 6 that there have been over 20,000 foreign volunteers sign up to help the country against the Russian invasion.
"I want to help them. It's as simple as that," Wali said. "I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian."
The 40-year-old former sniper is said to have a kill distance of 2 miles, according to the Mirror, per FOX News.
He told CBC that he left his family in Canada and his job as a computer programmer to join in on the war. Wali said that the "hardest part" of the decision was that he'll miss his son's first birthday this week, and added that his wife opposed his choice to go to Ukraine.
"A week ago I was still programming stuff," Wali said. "Now I'm grabbing anti-tank missiles in a warehouse to kill real people… That's my reality right now."
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