One of the world's deadliest snipers has arrived in Ukraine and vowed to fight the Russians as a volunteer fighter.
Wali, his nickname, has been in Iraq on his own to fight the Islamic State.
But he has now crossed the border of Ukraine to take on Putin's army after leaving his wife and son in Canada.
He was used twice in Afghanistan as a sniper with the Canadian Armed Forces from 2009 and 2011.
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And in the same Canadian group he was a sniper with a 3.5km kill distance.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky announced those wishing to join the Ukrainian fighters would be welcome.
He said: "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."
Wali was contacted by a friend on Friday involved in "neutral convoys" of humanitarian aid for months to bring food to the Donbas area.
He told French-Canadian publication La Presse : "He told me they needed a sniper. It's like a firefighter who hears the alarm ringing. I had to go."
But his arrival in Ukaraine leaves behind his wife and boy, who will celebrate his first birthday without him.
He told The Sun : "I know, it's just awful. But me, in my head, when I see the images of destruction 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 reluctantly allowed him to go and wants her identity to remain under anonymous
She said that if she hadn't let him it go it "would have broken him" and likened it to "putting him in jail".
Wali told CBC three other former Canadian soldiers had also made the journey with him the journey with him and were warmly greeted
"They were so happy to have us," he said. "It's like we were friends right away."
He travelled from Poland, going against a sea of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees travelling the opposite way.
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The sniper fought with the Kurds against ISIS in Syria several years ago, and travelled to Ukraine because "I want to help them. It's as simple as that."
He added: "I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian."
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 3,450m - more than two miles away.
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."
He went on: "I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian."
