Ten days ago, Shadow narrowly avoided death, yet again. Together with his friend Wali, a Canadian sniper who also volunteered in Ukraine, and two Ukrainian soldiers and friends, he was tasked with following a Russian tank in the Donbass region in the east of the country.
The quartet believed they had not been spotted. The two Ukrainian soldiers even came out of hiding to smoke a cigarette and offered some to the Canadians. Wali refused, but Shadow was joining them when the Russian tank suddenly turned and fired in their direction.
The shell landed exactly between the two Ukrainian soldiers. The explosion pushed Shadow back into the trench, uninjured. But his two friends weren’t so lucky. One died instantly, the other a few minutes later.
” He was a few feet away from me, still breathing. We looked at each other and he died before my eyes. Two of my friends died before my eyes. »
Shadow is one of thousands of volunteers from around the world who responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for help.
Photo: Radio-Canada / CBC
The two Canadians, much less numerous and equipped than the Russians in front of them, had no choice but to try to flee. They managed to slip away, despite enemy fire.
” This was my last patrol on the Eastern Front. I have one word to describe it: it’s hell. »
Every day there are victims. Every day your friends die. It’s day after day. I have American friends, former marines, most of their missions were to go and recover dead bodies [sic] of their friends killed in action. That’s life on the front.
“It was my first time”
Shadow and Wali are among thousands of volunteers from around the world who answered the call for help from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Since their arrival about two months ago, they have witnessed several times the capricious nature of war, how every ordinary little moment can suddenly become deadly.
It even happened in Shadow’s very first lifelong fight, who didn’t experience war during his years in the Canadian Armed Forces. Deployed in Irpin, near kyiv, he was to assist Wali and carry his ammunition.
His team was quickly stormed by the Russians, who bombed the building they were in.
The town of Irpin, near kyiv, was partly destroyed by Russian bombing.
Photo: Getty Images/Chris McGrath
We were hit by a tank. It shelled our building, but missed us by a few yards. After the Russians started shooting with lighter weapons, we came out of hiding and […] a huge firefight!
It was my first time. The Russians were about 50 meters from us, there were bullets flying everywhere, everywhere. We couldn’t do anything, they were trying to surround us.
A Ukrainian soldier eventually threw a grenade, which gave Shadow’s team time to flee. This guy saved our lives.
“I did my time”
After too many experiences of the genre, Shadow will not return to the front. But neither can he bring himself to leave Ukraine and its citizens. For now, I will engage in humanitarian aid. I will stay in Lviv and be as helpful as possible.
Since the start of the Russian invasion, the Government of Canada has advised its citizens to avoid all travel to Ukraine. If you are in Ukraine, you should take shelter in a safe place, unless it is safe to leave the country
advised Global Affairs Canada at the end of February.
With information from CBC’s Murray Brewster and David Common
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca