One of the world's deadliest snipers has joined the fighting in Ukraine armed with his rifle in one hand and a camera in the other, and he has begun documenting his latest mission online, calling war 'a waste of human mess.'
Wali, 40, is a former sniper with the Canadian Forces and recently answered President Volodymyr Zelensky's call for foreign volunteers to help defeat Russian invaders.
The sniper-turned-filmmaker from Montreal uses the name given to him by the Afghan people while on one of two tours of duty with the Canadian Royal 22nd Regiment, so as not to be identified. He served in Afghanistan and Iraq during the 2010s.
While his name remains a mystery, Wali is becoming a familiar face on the ground and is keeping an online diary of his experiences in Ukraine. Over the last 10 days, he has told of the warm welcome he received from Ukrainians grateful for the help to defend their country.
But his online musings also details the stresses and strains being placed upon the country, with air raid sirens a near constant reminder that nothing is normal any longer.
Wali tells how he has been able to enjoy food made for him by locals, but that he has also been subjected to searches by the Ukrainian police and soldiers who at first can be wary of his volunteer group's presence.
He also describes the ingenuity with how some Ukrainians have reacted to the presence of the Russian military, with one farmer managing to tow away tanks when soldiers went on a break, while those living in a city apartment block were able to trap soldiers in a building elevator by cutting off the power.
Wali also describes how signs of life from before the invasion have disappeared with day-to-day stores such as IKEA, Starbucks and McDonald's closed - instead, with makeshift barricades erected outside as cities prepare for Russian invaders.
Before arriving in the country, Wali says he made a plea for more fighters to join him.
Wali crossed into Ukraine on March 1, which he documented in detail as he prepared to cross from neighboring Poland.
Wali went to fill up jerry cans with gas to make Molotov cocktails. He also says that is was 'surreal' to see echoes of life before the war began such as a brand-new IKEA.
'Meanwhile, my comrade is being called by his wife, a Ukrainian. She and her daughter are hiding in a shelter. You can hear shells falling and windows vibrating from the speakerphone,' Wali wrote.
Last week, Wali was still working as a computer programmer in Canada - now he's preparing to fight Russian troops.
'A week ago I was still programming stuff. Now I'm grabbing anti-tank missiles in a warehouse to kill people... That's my reality right now,' he told CBC News.
Last week, in the dead of night, he finally crossed the border.
The border crossing, he says, was a surreal experience, even for a former Canadian soldier used to the unpredictability of war in the sun-scorched grape fields of Kandahar.
Wali said he and the three other former Canadian soldiers who made the journey with him were greeted with hugs, handshakes, flags and photos by Ukrainians after they crossed the frontier.
Almost one week into the invasion, Wali described how there was a very positive mood among Ukrainians and describes how a farmer took matters into his own hands.
'A heroic atmosphere reigns here. We no longer count the stories of fighters and ordinary people defying the Russian Army. In one example, a farmer waited for the Russians to disembark their tanks during a break. He then towed the tanks with his tractor! Imagine that!'
Wali also described hearing from other soldiers also fighting in the field and how the forests were also said to be full of Ukrainian fighters, waiting for the arrival of the Russians.
'Ukrainians will go down in history as a people of warriors!' he declares.
Wandering deeper into the heart of Ukraine, and witnessing the destruction wrought by Russian invaders and artillery barrages, Wali said he felt compelled to act.
One week on from the start of the invasion, Wali described how he saw Russian war planes flying overhead.
His British friends took out their phones and 'filmed the enemy jets like tourists from a big window.'
He told how he was with three other Canadians and some British fighters who put their protective gear including bullet proof vests and helmets as soon as they crossed the border.
'I felt like I was getting ready for landing Normandy with some 'mates'', he joked.
On March 4, Wali described how a Ukrainian police SWAT team found the house where he and his volunteer fighting friends were staying.
'Despite being undercover, the population had alerted the authorities,' he reveals. It was an experience that shook people up having been shoved to the wall, and sometimes to the ground with a boot close to their face.
Wali said that at first he thought he was about to be captured by the Russians and likely be killed. Everyone in his party immediately put their hands up.
'Soldiers in the house put their hands up in the air like prisoners. One of the volunteers was talking to his wife on the phone. He was slammed to the floor.'
The SWAT team soon understood that Wali and his team were on the side of the Ukrainians with the group ultimately laughing and joking with one another.
'It put everyone in a good mood. It even allowed us to make more contacts in Ukraine,' he states dryly.
Wali tells how evidence of once normal life such as McDonald's, and gas stations are now stacked with sandbags and other barricades .
He describes how the streets are filled with X-shaped anti-tank obstacles which were also used during the Second World War.
Throughout his descriptive diary, Wali tells of several small victories including the downing of a Russian drone after a woman through a jar of pickles at it, and the trapping of soldiers who became stuck in an elevator after residents pulled the power.
'A month ago, the Russians seemed invincible. That's not the case today anymore. Victory begins when we see defeat in the eyes of the enemy,' he says optimistically, in a turn of phrase that he has begun to use more than once.
By March 7, Wali details how on-edge the Ukrainian soldiers are but that the 'mood changes' once they know you are on their side.
The scene he describes appears bleak with the corpses of Russian soldiers being hung from posts at a Ukrainian roadside checkpoint.
At the road block, he tells of tension on both sides with fingers on triggers ready for anything.
Eventually, the soldiers carrying out the inspection realized that the team they had stopped were on their side and the mood changed in an instant. The soldiers put down their weapons and even helped Wali and his team fill up with gas and later managed to enjoy a hot meal. Wali sees just how hospitable Ukrainians can be.
'Ukrainians are tough on invaders, but welcoming with those who came to help them. It's hard not to love a people who just want to be free!
More than 20,000 people from 52 countries have already volunteered to repel the Russian invaders in Ukraine, where they will serve in a newly created international legion, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said over the weekend.
He said: 'I know it's just awful, but me, in my head, when I see images of destruction in Ukraine, it is my son that I see, in danger and who is suffering.'
Wali's wife, whose identity has been protected for security reasons, said she reluctantly allowed him to leave and that keeping him home would have been 'like putting him in jail.'
Ukraine has plans to field a reserve unit of around 10,000 trained officers and more than 120,000 volunteers to repel the Russian invaders.
