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Adventures of a Canadian sniper in Ukraine
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin. Passages in bold from the original sources.
[ColonelCassad] The story of the adventures of the Canadian sniper "Vali" in Ukraine. In our country, along the way, they managed to declare him "killed in Mariupol" (where he had not been at all), and among the Ukrainians, they said that he had already opened his combat account. The reality turned out to be a little different.

Details of the adventures of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine

Canadian newspaper La Presse published (https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2022-05-06/retour-du-tireur-d-elite-wali/la-guerre-c-est-une-deception-terrible php) an interview with the sniper Vali, who returned from Ukraine, about whom Ukrainian propaganda methodically made legends. In short, "one of the best snipers in the world" fired only two shots in two months. By the windows. This war is a complete sham."

Most mercenaries return home disappointed, having never been to the front.
"I'm lucky that I'm still alive at all, we walked on the edge."

The last straw was the combat mission, in which the mercenaries acted together with Ukrainian conscripts. At the position, which was under fire from Russian tanks, two Ukrainian soldiers rose to smoke. Vali tried to stop them, but they didn't listen. A few seconds later, a shell flew at them "with jewelry accuracy". "The explosion was terrible. I suddenly lost my hearing and felt a headache. It was tough." Vali realized that the Ukrainians could no longer be helped. "It smelled of death. It's hard to describe, a terrible smell of burnt flesh, sulfur and chemicals. An inhuman smell."

After that, Vali called his wife. "He tried to explain that he had witnessed two deaths. He said: I think I've done enough already, huh? Have I done enough? Like he wanted me to tell him to go home."

For most of the mercenaries who crossed the border, the process of finding a unit to join was chaotic and agonizing. "Zelensky called everyone, but the officers on the ground were absolutely helpless. They didn't know what to do with us."

Wali himself and several other Canadians joined the Normandy Brigade, a private mercenary force commanded by a retired Canadian soldier from Quebec with the call sign "Hrulf". However, members of the brigade immediately began to show discontent, many deserted. Three mercenaries told La Presse that Hrulf promised them weapons and protective equipment, but in the end did nothing. Some of the mercenaries were 40 kilometers from the front without body armor.

"If the Russians had launched an offensive, we would all have been in danger. It was the irresponsibility of the brigade command," admits one of the mercenaries.

The desertion of mercenaries is confirmed by the commander of the "Norman Brigade" Hrulf himself. According to him, about 60 people deserted in total. Some wanted to conclude a contract on terms that would grant them combatant status and guarantee medical care at the expense of the Ukrainian authorities. Others tried to set up a scam to steal $500,000 provided by the Americans.

"Many expected everything to be easy and simple, but in war it's the other way around. It was a terrible disappointment," Vali concludes.

To find the weapon, one had to go through Kafkaesque adventures. "You need to know someone who knows someone else who will say that in this old barbershop they can give you an AK-47. All equipment must be collected piece by piece, here and there, sometimes in good condition, sometimes not."

Mercenaries also obtained food and gasoline themselves. "Even food was often given to us by civilians. The same with gasoline to fill up the car. You constantly need to decide something, to know the right people."

A few weeks later, the most trained mercenaries were selected by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine and, according to them, began to be involved in operations behind enemy lines. The rest roam around rented housing and wait until someone agrees to take them into their squad.

At the same time, most of the mercenaries decided to return home. "Many people come to Ukraine and want to fight, but they leave with their tails between their legs," says Vali.

Ultimately, Vali admits, he himself fired two shots at the windows "to scare" the enemy, and in reality was never in the enemy's range of fire. "This is a war of technology, where the brave Ukrainian soldiers suffer heavy losses under fire and miss a lot of opportunities due to lack of technical training."

Thanks for the material to the Telegram subscriber named "Tolyanchik"

Plus the material on the mercenary brigade itself.

Extravagant commander and lack of weapons: Canadian mercenary about serving in the Normandy Brigade.

Since March, the so-called unofficially operates in Ukraine. The Normandy Brigade is a group of mostly Canadian mercenaries. The unit consists of several dozen fighters and is actually part of the "International Legion of Ukraine", although legally it is in no way connected with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The "Normandy Brigade" is not subordinate to the Ukrainian forces and acts as a kind of PMC in the southeast direction.

The National Post newspaper published an interview with a Canadian mercenary ( https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/turmoil-for-norman-brigade-canadian-led-foreign-battalion-in-ukraine ) Paul, who spoke about the terrible conditions of service and suicidal behavior of the commander of the "brigade":

▪️ Paul is 27 years old, he is a veteran of the French Foreign Legion, he lived in Ottawa. In early April, he recruited several Canadians and went with them to Ukraine. In the Normandy Brigade, he became deputy commander, but soon became disillusioned with the unit.

▪️The "Brigade" is led by a former French legionnaire from Quebec, callsign "Hrulf". He is obsessed with liberating his Ukrainian wife's native village and sports a tattoo of the Black Sun, popular among local nationalists.

"This is everything our grandfathers fought against in the Second World War," said colleagues.

▪️The hero of the interview says that Khrulf is not able to provide either the supply of his unit or the coordination of actions with the Ukrainians. The "Normans" literally live in dungeons, sleep on the floors, starve and are constantly sick.

▪️The second problem of the Normandy Brigade is the total shortage of weapons. According to its veterans, only a third of Khrulf's subordinates received AK-47s and one or two magazines of cartridges. The rest were sent unarmed to the front lines to dig trenches, handing out weapons for staged photos for Facebook reports. At the same time, Khrulf accepted donations on behalf of the brigade and sold paraphernalia, but the mercenaries did not receive new weapons.

▪️“Hrulf” constantly risks his subordinates, throwing untrained mercenaries into battle, while he himself “makes himself some kind of stupid Easter commander.”

“He puts the lives of unsuspecting young Canadians in danger who just want to go and watch the fight. It's just crazy, real suicide, ”says Paul.

▪️In Canada, the Normandy Brigade is already being denied support. The founder of the FightforUkraine.ca portal, Chris Eklund, dissuades Canadians from joining the Khrulf team, calling it incompetent.

▪️After a public conflict with the commander, Paul and other mercenaries left the "Norman Brigade" and joined the "International Legion", considering it a more organized structure. Khrulf's only defender, sniper Vali, who left in March, assures that the conditions in the "brigade" are the same as in any foreign unit in Ukraine.


Posted by: badanov 2022-05-08
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=632303