Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage
Sean Pennis showing his support for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
After spending months documenting the war, the actor, 61, toldHollywood Authenticmagazine that he recently thought about fighting on behalf of Ukraine.
“If you’ve been in Ukraine [fighting] has to cross your mind,” he said in the interview published Saturday. “And you kind of think what century is this? Because I was at the gas station in Brentwood the other day and I’m now thinking about taking up arms against Russia? What the f— is going on?”
“The only possible reason for me staying in Ukraine longer last time would’ve been for me to be holding a rifle, probably without body armour, because as a foreigner, you would want to give that body armour to one of the civilian fighters who doesn’t have it or to a fighter with more skills than I have, or to a younger man or woman who could fight for longer or whatever,” he toldHollywood Authentic.
In a statement shared withPEOPLEin February, Penn expressed his thoughts on the horrors that the Ukrainian people are facing.
“[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.
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“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,” he added.
In hisHollywood Authenticinterview, Penn also talked about meeting with Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy"the day before the invasion" and being with him “during the invasion, on day one.”
Seeing Zelenskyy on that day, he said, “it struck me that I was now looking at a guy who knew that he had to rise to the ultimate level of human courage and leadership. I think he found out that he was born to do that.”
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Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
