Photo: @PashaLeeOfficial/Instagram
Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee, 33, was killed during a shelling by Russian forces in Kyiv on Sunday (March 6), according to local reports via Deadline.com.
Lee, who is referred to as Pavlo Li and Pasha Li, announced he'd joined the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine last week in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of his native country.
“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 !!!” Lee shared in a translated Instagram post.
Lee is credited for roles in Meeting of Classmates (2019), The Fight Rules (2017), Selfie Party (2016) and Zvychayna Sprava (2012), as well as serving as a host on the DOM channel and translated dubbings of The Lion King and The Hobbit, according to a post shared by Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of Ukraine's National Union of Journalists, on his Facebook account.
Lee's most recent role came on the television drama Provincial.
At least four civilians were killed during shelling near the bridge at Irpin on Sunday as Russian forces moved into the suburbs of Kyiv, the New York Times reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country would conduct military operations in Eastern Ukraine during an NBC News translation of a speech addressing the Russian population prior to sunrise on February 24 in Moscow.
The announcement served as the final action ahead of an attack by Putin and the Russian military, which the U.S. and European allies to the neighboring Ukraine have attempted to prevent from taking place through diplomatic discussions.
A Ukraine interior minister confirmed to NBC News via text message that "cruise and ballistic missile strikes" were already underway shortly after Putin's announcement.
NBC News correspondent Erin McLaughlin said explosions could be heard from her live shot in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, at 6:00 a.m. local time.
More than 1,000 protesters were reportedly arrested during anti-war protests throughout Russia amid President Putin's announcement to conduct military operations and ensuing attack on Ukraine, BNO News reported.