Ukrainian actor and television presenter, Pavlo ‘Pasha’ Romanovych Lee who was recently killed following Russian invasion reportedly gave his bulletproof vest to a child in a heroic gesture right before his death.
During an evacuation in the town of Irpin the 33-year-old actor was helping children flee a house when he was killed by Russian shelling.
Lee, known for his acting, presenting, and voice dubbing work, was killed near Kiev, Ukraine as the area surrounding the city was occupied on March 6.
Five days ago Lee posted a photo of himself in military gear, with the caption ‘LET’S UNITE’.
He also took to Instagram to share resources for helping Ukrainian refugees across the world.
His last photo, tagged in Irpen two days ago, was captioned: ‘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.’
Sergiy Tomilenko, Chairman at the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, shared a tribute to the late actor on his Facebook page.
It read: ‘(Pasha Lee) went to fight for Ukraine from the first days of the war and died in Irpen, where there are still fierce battles with Russian occupants.
‘The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine expresses its sincere condolences to (Pasha’s) family and friends.
‘Our words of support to all the staff of the DOM channel, which embodies the noble mission of broadcasting for the deoccupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and Crimea.’