A sniper from an elite Canadian unit joined the fighting in Ukraine: “I must help”
The 40-year-old Valley served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and helped the Kurds fight ISIS. He is now in Ukraine, describing his experience as “surrealistic.”
While millions of Ukrainians are fleeing for their lives from the country following the invasion of the Russian military, many civilians and foreigners have responded to President Volodymyr Zalansky’s call and arrived to defend the borders. One of them is an elite sniper of the Canadian Army, who entered the country with a camera in the dead of night.
‘Valley’ (Photo: CBC News)
“I just want to help them. It’s just as it sounds,” said the sniper, who gave only his nickname – ‘Valley’, given to him by the Afghan people, so as not to identify himself. “I have to help because there are people here who are bombed just because they want to be European and not Russian.”
Valley, 40, is a former member of Canada’s 22nd Royal Elite Battalion, and in a recent interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Crop, he said his experience was surreal – when it comes from someone who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as joining Kurdish fighters before. Several years in order to fight ISIS.
He came to Ukraine with his camera, and he documents the war – what he calls a “waste of human mess”.
“What I am doing is shortening Canadian politics,” he told the newspaper. “Yes, of course governments do not like it, but in Ukraine, I really feel there is strong support, not just moral support.”
The sniper said he was received by the Ukrainians with open arms. “They were so happy to have me. It’s like, we became friends right away,” he said. He described how the locals prepared food for him, but also the searches he went through by the police and the Ukrainian soldiers who initially suspected him.
“A week ago, I was still planning things,” he said in an interview. “Now, I’m catching anti-tank missiles to kill real people … that’s my reality right now.” Also, the Canadian ‘Valley’ said that in his decision he is missing his son’s first birthday.
A few days ago, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kolba said the number of foreigners seeking to enter the country and provide military assistance was “approaching 20,000”, according to a Washington Post report. “Experienced volunteers from the military from 52 countries around the world come to us. It is their wish.”
“Many people in the world have hated Russia and what it has been doing in recent years, but no one has dared to openly oppose and fight them,” he continued. “So, when people saw that the Ukrainians were fighting, that the Ukrainians were not giving up, many felt motivated to join the struggle.”
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