Ukrainian Actor Pasha Lee Killed By Russian Shelling In Irpin

Renowned Ukrainian actor and TV presenter Pasha Lee was killed by Russian shelling in Irpin, a small town on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv, the Odesa International Film Festival (OIFF) said.

The 33-year-old actor died Sunday. The OIFF confirmed Lee's death in a Facebook post. The post revealed that Lee had joined the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine last week to defend his country against the ongoing Russian invasion.

"As a result of shelling by Russian occupiers, the famous Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee was killed," the post read. "The artist joined the ranks of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to protect the country from Russian occupiers."

The OIFF made a plea to the world community to "help Ukraine in the fight against Russia and stop the war" by standing in support of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s demand for the enforcement of a no-fly zone over the Eastern European country to repel Russian airstrikes.

Anna Machuh, chief executive officer of the Odesa International Film Festival, mourned Lee's death. "People of culture should do what they know best — culture, not war," she told Business Insider. "Pasha Lee is a real hero, From the very first days he stood up for the defense of his country. His death at the hands of the Russian occupiers is a huge loss for the entire Ukrainian film industry. We will never recover from it and we will never forget his talent."

Lee is credited with several Ukrainian films and television shows, including “Shadows of Unforgotten Ancestors,” “Zvychayna Sprava,” “The Fight Rules,” “Meeting of Classmates,” among others. He also did dubbing work for “The Hobbit” and “The Lion King.”

Following his death, Ukrainian actress Anastasiya Kasilova, who worked with Lee in the 2021 TV drama “Provincial took,” to her Instagram handle to mourn his demise. "Pasha Li killed during the shelling in Irpen, defending Ukraine," she wrote in a post. "He is an actor, TV presenter, my colleague and a good acquaintance… Not so long ago we shot together in a teaser for a children's film… Never forgive!"

Just a day before his death, Lee's official Instagram page shared a picture of him posing in camouflage.

On Sunday, Russian warplanes bombed Irprin as hundreds of people scrambled to flee by any means possible. Grim footage showed locals, along with their children and elderly family members, being forced to dive for cover amid heavy shelling as they tried to make it to the waiting buses that would ferry them away from the Russian onslaught.

At least four civilians, a man, a woman, and two children, said to be of the same family were killed in the shelling, according to The New York Times.