Tributes are pouring in for Ukrainian actor and TV host Pasha Lee, who was killed by Russian shelling in Irpen.
The 33-year-old joined the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine last week, in a bid to defend his country amid the invasion of Russian troops.
Pasha had recently shared images of himself on social media, kitted out in military uniform.
An Instagram posted by Pasha on Saturday translated as: ‘For the last 48 hours there is an opportunity to sit down and take a picture of how we are being bombed, and we are smiling because we will manage and everything will be UKRAINE WE ARE WORKING !!!’
Pasha shot to fame after starring in the 2019 comedy Meeting of Classmates, 2017 sport action movie The Fight Rules.
He was also a presenter on the DOM channel and had provided Ukrainian dubbing for Hollywood films such as The Hobbit.
Follow all today's latest updates on the conflict with our live blog
A Facebook post by Sergiy Tomilenko, President of Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists, confirmed the death of Pasha , who had also worked as a dubbing artist on movies such as The Lion King, Malibu rescuers and Hobbit.
And head of the UATV/DOM Platform, Julia Ostrovsk, said Pasha was the "most joyful and sunny" of the TV presenters working on the programme.
Tributes to the actor have poured in since news of his passing.
Odesa Internation Film Festival wrote in a Facebook post: "On March 6, as a result of shelling by Russian occupiers in the Ukrainian city of Irpin, the famous Ukrainian actor Pasha Li was killed. He was 33 years old.
"The artist joined the ranks of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to protect the country from Russian occupiers.
"Pasha Lee was a well-known Ukrainian film and dubbing actor, singer and composer. He played in the theater "Koleso", starred in films and commercials.
"Among his works in cinema are the films “Shtolnya” (2006) and “Shadows of Unforgotten Ancestors” (2013) by Lyubomyr Levytsky, “Zvychayna sprava” by Valentyn Vasyanovych (2012), “The Fight Rules” by Oleksey Shaparev (2016), “Meeting of classmates” by Valentyn Shpakov (2019) and others."
And another social media post from fellow actor Evgeny Shekera described his friend as a “real hero”.
“He was an example of dedication and always an inspiration to me. When he was around I smiled, when we met, he hugged me.
“Pash - I love you. You meant a lot to me and to all people.”
Anastasiya Kasilova, one of Pasha's co-stars on Provincial, the 2021 TV drama that was one of his final projects, paid tribute to the actor on Facebook.
"He is an actor, TV presenter, my colleague and a good acquaintance…
"Never forgive!" she wrote.
