Canadian sniper Wali returns from Ukraine after firing just two shots

Sniper Wali returns from Ukraine after firing just two shots

What happens when a decorated sniper arrives at a war and finds no weapons, no missions, and no enemy to aim at? Wali, the former soldier of Canada's Royal 22nd Regiment who answered President Volodymyr Zelensky's call, has returned to Quebec after two months in Ukraine with an uncomfortable confession: he fired two shots, and only to scare. His account, published by La Presse, describes a reality far removed from the legend built around his figure: lack of equipment, improvised units, and deep disappointment with the organization of the international legion.

The sniper's story: from epic to bewilderment

Wali arrived in Ukraine in early March, when the Ukrainian government announced the creation of the International Legion for the Territorial Defense. According to the sniper's own estimates, more than 20,000 volunteers showed up at the border. Most, however, never set foot on the front line. He himself describes a Kafkaesque process to get a weapon: "You had to know someone who knew someone who would tell you that in some old barbershop they would give you an AK-47," he recounts. Ammunition gathered from here and there, weapons in dubious condition, and a military structure that never quite got going.

His last mission in the Donbass region hastened his return. Two Ukrainian recruits came out from under their blankets to smoke a cigarette near a trench exposed to Russian tank fire. A high-precision shell exploded next to them. Wali describes the scene starkly: "It smelled of death, it's hard to describe; it's a macabre smell of charred flesh, sulfur, and chemicals." He immediately understood there was nothing to be done for his comrades. Shortly after, he decided to go home.

The international legion: illusion, bureaucracy, and desertion

The commander of the Norman Brigade, who asked to remain anonymous, confirms that around sixty fighters have left the unit since the conflict began. Some wanted to sign a contract guaranteeing them protection under the Geneva Conventions and coverage in case of injury. Others, according to this commander, even "plotted" to steal a shipment of weapons worth $500,000 supplied by the United States to create their own combat unit.

"There are guys who were in a hurry to go to the front without even the most basic security screening," the commander explains. "The Ukrainians tested us, and only now are we starting to receive more missions." Initial distrust, lack of coordination, and military bureaucracy turned the experience of many volunteers into a succession of waits and frustrations.

"War is a terrible disappointment"

Wali makes no secret of his assessment: "Many volunteer fighters expect everything to be ready, but war is the opposite, it's a terrible disappointment." Alongside another soldier from Quebec nicknamed Shadow, he joined a Ukrainian unit fighting in the Kyiv region. There he saw that real war is "a war of machines," where Ukrainian soldiers suffer heavy losses from bombardments but lack the military technical knowledge to seize their opportunities. "If the Ukrainians had had the procedures we had in Afghanistan for communicating with artillery, we could have caused a massacre," he concludes.

Despite everything, Wali does not regret his decision to go. "My heart feels like going back to the front. I still have the flame. I like the theater of operations. But I pushed my luck. I have no injuries. I think to myself, how far can I keep rolling the dice? I don't want to lose what I have here."

The arms black market: the other side of the conflict

The lack of equipment is not just a logistical problem. Wali's testimony and reports of stolen shipments point to a broader phenomenon: the proliferation of Western weapons in the hands of irregular groups. In Spain, the National Police found a loaded Instalaza C-90 rocket launcher in the hallway of the apartment of a drug user in Zaragoza, according to a message from the forum. The company Instalaza, based in that same city, manufactures this type of infantry military equipment. The episode, though isolated, illustrates the risks of a conflict that has already spilled beyond Ukraine's borders.

The legend that deflates

Wali had become a media icon. He was credited with impossible antiestéticats: from killing dozens of Russian generals to causing thousands of casualties. His return to Canada, unharmed and with the confession that he had fired only two shots, has exposed the distance between propaganda and reality. As he himself puts it, "it's a war of machines," and this time he decided to stop rolling the dice.

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Modern war is not always as it is told. Sometimes the world's most famous sniper comes home having fired two shots and with enormous disappointment. In the end, the epic is left to the storytelling.