As Ukrainian families fled their war-torn country at its Polish border, an elite Canadian sniper went the other way, entering Ukraine in the dead of night.
“I want to help them. It’s as simple as that,” said the soldier, who only gave his nickname “Wali,” in a recent interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian.”
The former member of the elite Royal 22e Regiment of Canada said it is a surreal experience — and that is coming from someone who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as joined Kurdish fighters several years ago to battle ISIS.
Wali said he was greeted by Ukrainians with open arms when he came to fight.
“They were so happy to have us,” Wali said. “It’s like we were friends right away.
“A week ago, I was still programming stuff,” he said. “Now I’m grabbing anti-tank missiles in a warehouse to kill real people. … That’s my reality right now.”
The Canadian said he will miss the first birthday of his son, who is back home with the rest of his young family.
The CBC said it spoke to about half a dozen Canadians who were also joining the fight.
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