Photo: Sean Penn / Instagram
Sean Pennis sharing updates from Ukraine.
OnInstagramMonday, the 61-year-old actor posted footage of himself riding in the backseat of a car, looking out the window at a local camp in Lviv.
“I was in Lviv, Ukraine today with CORE Co-Founder and CEO @annyounglee and our team, strategizing with local governance & NGO’s to scale up our in-country programs,” he captioned the silent clip. “Had a very good meeting with Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy,” he added, linking to his disaster relief nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE).
Last week, the Oscar winner uploaded another video of his travels in Ukraine, sharing footage of a toddler girl playing with bubbles at a refugee shelter on the country’s western border.
The actor tagged estranged wifeLeila Georgein the post. Though George, 29, wasn’t seen on screen in either of Penn’s recent videos from Ukraine, the pairhave been spotted togetheron multiple occasions since shefiled for divorcein October 2021, following more than a year of marriage. Most recently, they were seencelebrating New Year’s Eve togetherin her native Sydney.
In a statement shared withPEOPLEat the time, Penn called the war a “brutal mistake” and expressed his thoughts on the horrors that the Ukrainian people are facing.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
“[It is] already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn’t relent, I believe [Russian president] Mr. [Vladimir] Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind,” he said.
“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 added.
“If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost.”
Local residents are seen outside a damaged building in Volnovakha of Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 15.Victor/Xinhua via Getty Images
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin, 69, insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy, 44, vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,” he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
