Hollywood star and filmmaker Sean Penn, who is known for his association with anti-war and humanitarian causes, was in Ukraine filming a documentary on the Russian invasion until now. The actor has fleed the war-torn country recently along with thousands of refugees and his movie crew.
Penn posted a photo to his Twitter handle on Monday showing him wearing a backpack and carrying another piece of luggage on wheels as he walked along a road beside a line of cars stretching into the distance. "Myself & two colleagues walked miles to the Polish border after abandoning our car on the side of the road. Almost all the cars in this photo carry women & children only, most without any sign of luggage, and a car their only possession of value," Penn wrote.
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The tweet did not explain why the Academy Award-winning actor and his companions were forced to abandon their vehicle.
Before leaving the country, Penn also appeared at a press briefing in Ukraine's capital of Kiev, where he listened to government officials talk about the crisis. "Already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn't relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind," Penn said.
Penn's documentary on the Russia Ukraine war is a Vice Studios production in association with Vice World News and Endeavor Content. The actor last visited Ukraine in November 2021 to start the preparations for his documentary by visiting with the country's military installations.
The Office of the President issued a statement praising the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker, noting that the director had come to Kiev to record events that were unfolding in Ukraine "and to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country".
Penn's non-profit organisation Community Organised Relief Effort (CORE) was set up in response to the Haiti earthquake of 2010 and also deployed teams to aid with Covid testing and vaccines across the country.
(With IANS inputs)
