Sean Penn, 61, is dedicated to his work. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, Russia launched a full-scale attack against Ukraine to prevent the country from joining NATO. As Hollywood stars continue to weigh in on the conflict from their homes in the United States, Sean has taken another approach and is currently in Ukraine — filming a documentary about the conflict with Russia!
One day after the attack began, The Office of The President of Ukraine announced that Sean had landed in Ukraine to document the current situation. Sean issued a statement about the project to HollywoodLife. “Already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and If he doesn’t relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind,” the actor said.
“President Zelensky 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. If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost,” he also said about the work he’s doing in Europe.
In another statement obtained by Newsweek, the Ukrainian government said that they were “grateful” to the Milk actor for doing his part to help.
“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,” the statement said.
The statement added, “Sean Penn is demonstrating bravery that many others have been lacking, in particular some Western politicians. The more people like that—true friends of Ukraine, who support the fight for freedom—the quicker we can stop this heinous invasion by Russia.”
The documentary, which is set to chronicle the invasion of Ukraine by Russia’s Vladimir Putin, 69, is being produced by VICE Studios. As fans of Sean know, he has been involved in several humanitarian efforts over the years. Following the 2010 earthquakes that rocked Haiti, Sean founded the non-profit organization CORE.