'World's deadliest sniper' feared dead in Ukraine confirms he is very much alive

Sniper known as ‘Wali’ spoke to 'The National' about his reported death and war in Ukraine

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

“The world's deadliest sniper” — a Canadian veteran who has been fighting on the front lines in Ukraine — is alive, despite recent Russian reports of his death.

Wali, a 40-year-old sniper who has asked that his full name be withheld, is recuperating after a possible Covid-19 infection. Aside from this, he confirmed to The National, he doesn’t have a “scratch” on him.

While on the front line in the Kyiv region, Wali and his team were hit by a Russian attack but he was ultimately unharmed.

Rumours on social media began to swirl, however, with several pro-Russian accounts reporting that he had been killed in action.

“Canadian sniper Wali dubbed 'the wold's deadliest sniper' killed by Russian forces just 20 minutes after going into action in Mauripol,” said one typo-riddled tweet.

Wali said he was actually hundreds of kilometres away from the besieged city of Mariupol at the time he was reportedly killed.

“I never saw Mariupol in my entire life,” he told The National, speaking from an undisclosed location.

The sniper, a former member of Canada’s Royal 22nd Regiment, a renowned legion of mostly French-Canadian soldiers, said he only heard of his demise when he returned from the front.

“I was the last person to learn about it,” he said with a chuckle. “So, you know, truth can be boring, or it can be horrible and in that case, it was just boring and the boring part was that I didn't have any cell phone [at the front].”

Much has been made about Wali’s pedigree, but the Quebec native, an Afghanistan war veteran who also fought ISIS in Syria, dismissed rumours that he was responsible for the longest confirmed kill shot in history.

The identity of the sniper behind 3,540-metre shot in 2017 has never been released. Officials said the sniper was from an elite Canadian special forces unit, which Wali was not part of.

“I'm just a good soldier among other good soldiers,” he said. “I don't want to steal the glory of the sniper who did that shot.”

Wali said he had a few close calls in his first week on the front line but that he had yet to fire a single shot from his Sako TRG 42 sniper rifle.

“We had some major engagement, though, with lots of bullets,” he told The National.

“But when you're a sniper, you're not like throwing bullets in every window all the time. Right? You wait for a nice opportunity, which I did not have.”

He felt compelled to leave his wife, his infant son and his comfortable job as a computer programmer back in Canada to take up arms in Ukraine out of a sense of duty.

“We have to stop it — it's not acceptable,” he said of Russia’s invasion.

A firefighter works at a residential district that was damaged by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A woman removes pieces of broken glass from a shop window after a bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

Residents clean the street outside apartments damaged by shelling, in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A man walks at a residential district that was damaged by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters

Rescuers work at the site of buildings damaged by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters

Launch of missiles by the coastal missile system 'Bastion' on infrastructure facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from an undisclosed position in Crimea. As a result of a strike with long-range precision weapons, an arsenal with weapons and military equipment of Ukrainian troops in the village of Orzhev, 14 kilometres north-west of the city of Rivne, two Tochka-U launchers near Kiev, and eight anti-aircraft missile systems were destroyed. EPA

Pictures lie amidst the rubble of former teacher Natalia's house which was was hit in a military strike, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman rests at his position in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

A hug for a child at the railway station in Przemysl, near the Polish-Ukrainian border, as Ukrainian refugees make their way out of the war zone. AFP

Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell at Lviv, western Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian servicemen rest in Kharkiv. AP

A car wrecked and burnt by shelling in a street in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

A member of pro-Russian unit in uniform without insignia handles a mortar round at a weapons depot near Marinka, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Reuters

The aftermath of shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. EPA

Nurses in tears after Russian shelling of a psychiatric hospital in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. AFP

Candles and lights form a giant peace sign during the Avaaz vigil in front of the European Council and Commission buildings in Brussels, Belgium. AP

A wrecked car in a ruined street in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

Rescue workers at an industrial building damaged by an air strike in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters

The monument to the Duke of Richelieu, one of the founders of the city of Odesa, is covered by sand bags. Near by, a placard shows the building before the Russian invasion. EPA

People clean up a room in an apartment building in Kyiv destroyed in an air raid, as Russia presses on with its invasion of Ukraine. Reuters

An instructor shows citizens how to fire the weapon during a shooting training session in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian troops hurl stun grenades at demonstrators protesting against the invasion, in Kherson, Ukraine. Reuters

Ukrainian servicemen stand guard at a military checkpoint in Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian refugees Sasha Alexandra and Olena embrace shortly before being allowed to cross into the United States to seek asylum in Tijuana, Mexico. They fled their city of Dnipro this month and travelled to Germany before flying to Mexico. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a broadcast speech in Kyiv, calling on citizens to 'drive the occupiers out'. EPA

An unexploded rocket in a cemetery in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. AFP

A portrait of a young woman who died during a Russian attack, next to her fresh grave in the Mykolaiv cemetery. AFP

Tents set up for Ukrainian refugees inside a train station in Bucharest, Romania. AFP

Workers cover a sculpture outside the home of Lviv National Opera to protect it from damage amid fighting in Ukraine. Reuters

Olena, the mother of Denys Snihur, a 25-year-old soldier killed by Russian shelling in the northern town of Ovruch, mourns him at his funeral in Lviv. Reuters

All that is left of a shopping centre after shelling in Kyiv. AP

Civilian volunteers attend a Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces training camp in Brovary, north-east of Kyiv. AP

Refugees at a temporary accommodation centre in a school gymnasium in Taganrog, Russia. EPA

Oil storage tanks burn in Chernihiv, Ukraine, in a satellite image from Maxar Technologies. EPA

President Joe Biden discusses the US response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the Business Roundtable CEO Quarterly Meeting. EPA

The wreck of a Russian military vehicle near Kharkiv. EPA

Firefighters work at the site of a shopping centre bombing in Kyiv. Reuters

Seven-year-old Amellia Anisovych, a refugee from Ukraine, sings the Ukraine national anthem at the start of a fund-raising concert in Lodz, Poland. Amellia became known for singing a song from the film 'Frozen' in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. AP

People queue at the National Stadium in Warsaw to apply for ID numbers that will entitle them to work and receive free health care and education in Poland. AP

Checkout tills are damaged at a supermarket in a shopping centre that was damaged in a bombing in Kyiv. Reuters

Cars are damaged at the site of a bombing at a shopping center in Kyiv. Reuters

A woman comforts a boy while refugees wait for Ukrainian police to check their papers and belongings in Brovary, Ukraine. AP

A refugee family sit in front of a tent at a temporary shelter offered by the Free Christian Church in Uszka, Hungary. Getty Images

Firefighters carry a ladder across the debris following Russian shellings that destroyed the Retroville shopping mall in Kyiv. AFP

A rescuer inside a shopping mall damaged by an airstrike in Kyiv. Reuters

He is one of thousands of foreign fighters who have rushed to Ukraine's defence since the Russian invasion began on February 24, but few have garnered as much attention.

Wali vowed to keep fighting, despite his reported brush with death.

“When I feel OK, it's good, or the war is over, then all right, I will leave and I will start coding again,” he said.

That day may not be far off. He said Russian forces were showing signs of fear.

“The Russians are scared of us.”