Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee killed during Russian shelling in Irpin

33-year-old had shared a picture of himself in military uniform, telling his followers, ‘we are smiling, because we will manage’

Ellie Harrison
Monday 07 March 2022 04:54 EST
Comments
Irpin lays in ruins after Russians attack Kyiv's neighbour city

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee has died aged 33 after enlisting in the Ukraine army’s Territorial Defence Forces.

The actor was killed on 6 March during Russian shelling in Irpin, a town just northwest of Kyiv.

His death was announced by the Odesa International Film Festival on Facebook.

Lee had shared pictures of himself in military uniform on his Instagram page last week.

One had the caption “Let’s unite”, while the other featured the words: “For the last 48 hours there is an opportunity to sit down and take a picture of how we are being bombed, and we are smiling, because we will manage and everything will be UKRAINE… WE ARE WORKING !!!”

Just days before he had been posting pictures of himself in the gym, celebrating Valentine’s Day and showcasing his new haircut.

On Sunday 6 March, it was reported that eight civilians in Ukraine were killed by Russian shelling as they tried to flee the town.

The victims included two children and were members of the same family, Irpin mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said.

Lee was a well-known film and dubbing actor, singer and composer. He was active in Kyiv’s Koleso theatre and starred in films and commercials.

His film credits include Valentyn Vasyanovych’s The Pit (2006) and Lyubomyr Levytsky’s Shadows of Unforgotten Ancestors (2013).

One of his last works was the 2021 crime series Provincial.

Ukrainian actor Anastasiya Kasilova, who worked with Lee Provincial, took to Facebook to mourn Lee’s death.

She wrote: “He is an actor, TV presenter, my colleague and a good acquaintance… Never forgive!”

Read live updates on the war in Ukraine here.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in