Ukrainian Actor Pasha Lee Reportedly Killed by Russian Shelling After Joining Armed Forces

Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee, who appeared in both films and on TV in the country, was reportedly killed by invading Russian forces in Irpin on Sunday.

Lee, who has also been credited as Pavlo Li and Pasha Li, joined the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine last week as Russia’s invasion intensified. The 33-year-old actor was killed on Sunday, according to Deadline via local Ukrainian news sources. He most recently appeared in the 2021 TV drama Provincial, the 2019 comedy Meeting of Classmates, and also provided Ukrainian dubbing for films such as The Lion King and The Hobbit. 

He shared his last social media post on Instagram on Sunday. “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!!!,” he wrote in the post, according to a rough translation. 

As the New York Times reported, Russian forces advancing on Kyiv fired mortar shells at a bridge crossing the Irpin river on Sunday. That same bridge was an evacuation route for civilians fleeing Irpin, and the shelling scattered civilians and left at least four people dead. According to the United Nations, at least 406 Ukrainian civilians have been confirmed killed since Feb. 24, 2022.

The actual figure is expected to be much higher, the United Nations said. So far, an estimated 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, which has been met with widespread condemnation by the international community.