Who is Wali? Elite Canadian sniper who joined Ukraine's fight against Russia

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 (CBC). “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 joining Kurdish fighters several years ago to battle ISIS.

The marksman, identified only as Wali to protect his family’s safety, has responded to President Volodymyr Zelinkskyy’s call for foreign fighters to assist in the war against Russia.

He left behind his programming job, his wife and infant son to cross the frontier from Poland with three other Canadian veterans with sniping gear and a camera in tow.

“Reality is today I am a programmer taking back his elite shooter carabine,” the 40-year-old retired veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces wrote on Friday. “I’m a good soldier no more. But I’m still good and I plan to contribute, at least a little bit, to the victory of this people who so want to be free.”

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.