Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
Sean Pennis standing with Ukraine.
The actor, 61, is currently in the country filming a documentaryamid Russia’s invasionthat started earlier this week.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Penn calls the war a “brutal mistake” and expresses his thoughts on the horrors that the Ukrainian people are facing.
“[It is] already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn’t relent, I believe [Russian president] Mr.[Vladimir] Putinwill have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind,” he says.
“President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle. Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams,” Penn adds. “If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost.”
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Penn is currently on the ground in Ukraine to capture events for an upcoming documentary. He was photographed attending a press briefing on Thursday, Zelenskyy’s officetold Newsweekin a statement.
“The director specially came to Kyiv to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia’s invasion of our country. Sean Penn is among those who support Ukraine in Ukraine today. Our country is grateful to him for such a show of courage and honesty,” read the statement, per the outlet.
The documentary is reportedly a Vice Studios production in association with Vice World News and Endeavor Content, according toVariety.
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine earlier this week, according to the Ukraine government. The attack is still evolving, but explosions and airstrikes have been reported, with threats mounting against the capital, Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million people.
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Oscar winner Penn is a founder ofCORE(Community Organized Relief Effort), which aids in humanitarian efforts. He also starred in arecent discovery+ documentaryabout how he helped organize relief efforts for Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake in 2010.
“I don’t fancy myself a good-doer or a bad-doer. I’m just a guy who says, ‘Okay, I think I can do this. I think I can do some good here.’ And that’s it,” he said in the doc,Citizen Penn.
source: people.com
