Sean Penn arrives in Ukraine to film documentary on Russian invasion
February 25, 2022, 10:13 am

Sean Penn arrives in Ukraine to film documentary on Russian invasion

US film actor and filmmaker Sean Penn (File photo: Facebook page)

The Guardian reported that Vice Studios confirmed to Variety on Thursday, actor Sean Penn is on the ground in Ukraine making a documentary about the Russian invasion, as Russia began a full-scale attack on its neighbor.

It said, the Oscar-winning star and longtime humanitarian activist appeared at a press briefing by the Ukrainian government in Kyiv on Thursday, listening to government officials speak about the crisis many world leaders are calling the worst conflict in Europe since 1945.

Penn previously visited Ukraine in November 2021 to research for the film. His visits with the Ukrainian military were documented by the Ukrainian joint forces operation press service, which posted photos of the meetups on social media at the time.

According to Newsweek, Penn arrived in Kyiv earlier this week and met with deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk, as well as local journalists and members of the military.

Ukraine's president-Volodymyr Zelenskiy (File photo: Facebook page)

The office of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a statement through the Ukrainian embassy in praise of the actor and director, who “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”.

The translated statement read: “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."

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The statement also said 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”.

Source: theguardian

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.