Sean Penn travels to Ukraine to film war documentary
Actor Sean Penn has travelled to Ukraine to film a documentary about the ongoing conflict with Russia.
The 61-year-old met with the Ukrainian president after attending a government press briefing for part of a VICE documentary he is filming.
President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of his meeting with the actor on his Instagram, with the caption, "The more people know about the war in the Ukraine, the higher the likelihood of stopping Russia!"
Sean Penn has been filming the documentary about escalating tensions in the area for several months, and recently returned to Kyiv, just days before Russian forces invaded the country.
In a translated Facebook post, the Ukrainian government said it was grateful for Penn being there, and was praised as being more courageous than Western leaders.
"An American actor and filmmaker, Oscar winner Sean Penn arrived to Ukraine. The director 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."
"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."
"He spoke to journalists, to our military, saw how we defend our country. Sean Penn demonstrates the courage that many others, especially western politicians lack."
"The more such people, true friends of Ukraine, who support the fight for freedom, the sooner it will be possible to stop the massive attack on Russia," a statement on the Ukrainian government's Facebook page read.
Sean Penn has recently been spotted in Kyiv having dinner with journalists, while thousands of people are fleeing the Ukrainian capital.
Penn has been involved in several journalistic endeavours before, after taking part in a documentary of the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010.
In 2016, the actor and director found himself caught up in the US investigation into fugitive drug lord El Chapo, after he made contact with him while working on a Rolling Stone article.
Image credits: Instagram