Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee dies in battle against Russian forces

Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee, who worked as a voice dub on The Lion King and The Hobbit, has died in battle against Russian forces.

The 33-year-old joined his home country's defence forces following President Vladimir Putin's invasion at the end of last month.

The actor — who got his big break in the 2019 movie Meeting of Classmates — was killed just outside of the city of Irpin, which was being shelled by the Russian army.

According to the Mirror, Pasha joined the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Russian forces invaded the country. On Saturday (March 5), after enlisting, he posted a photo of himself in uniform with the caption: "We are smiling because we will manage."

The rest of translated caption read: "After 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!"

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The news of Pasha's passing was confirmed by Sergiy Tomilenko, President of Ukraine's National Union of Journalists.

In a statement, he said: "The National Association of Journalists of Ukraine expresses sincere condolences to Paul's family and loved ones."

Julia Ostrovsk, head of the UATV/DOM Platform paid tribute to Pasha, calling him the "most joyful and sunny" of the roster of presenters working on the channel.

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