Hollywood actor and director Sean Penn was in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv make a documentary on the Russian invasion of the country and the humanitarian crisis. Penn joined the exodus of thousands of Ukrainian refugees going to Poland on foot.
Penn, 61, posted a picture on son Twitter feed on Monday showing the movie star wearing a backpack and a piece of luggage on wheels as he trudged along the shoulder of a road next to a line of cars stretching in the distance.
“Me and two colleagues traveled miles to the Polish border after abandoning our car on the side of the road,” said Penn in a tweeted caption with the image. “Almost all cars in this photo is women & children only, most without any sign of luggage and a car their only possession of assess.”
me & two colleagues traveled miles to the Polish border after abandoning our car on the side of the road. Almost all cars in this photo is women & children only, most without any sign of luggage and a car their only possession of assess. Photo.twitter.com/XSwCDgYVSH
— Sean Penn (@SeanPenn) February 28, 2022
The tweet did not explain why the Oscar-winning actor and his companions were forced to abandon their vehicle.
A spokesperson in Los Angeles, Mara Buxbaum, told Reuters by email on Tuesday that Penn had”made this out of Ukraine safely.” She declined to answer further questions about his whereabouts or the circumstances of son departure from Ukraine.
Penn was in Kyiv last Thursday, attend a press briefing at office of President Volodymyr Zelensky on the first daytime of russia invasion footage recording for a documentary about the crisis, Zelenskyy’s office noted in a statement at the time.
“Sean Penn is one of those who support Ukraine in Ukraine today. Our country is grateful to him for such as show of courage and honesty,” the statement read.
He said Penn interviewed Ukrainian politicians and military personalities as well as journalists within the framework of the production, for that he first visited Ukraine in November.
In a report last week, the acclaimed actor for Oscar-winning roles in “Mystic River” and “Milk” praised the Ukrainian people as “historical symbols of courage” and called Ukraine “the tip of spear for democratic embrace of dreams.”
“If we allow that to fight alone our soul as America is lost,” Penn wrote.
Penn, whose directorial credits include “Into the Wild” and “The Crossing Guard,” is also known for son political activism and son involvement in various humanitarian causes including relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake of 2010 and floods in Pakistan in 2012.
He made securities in 2016 when Rolling Stone magazine published an interview that Penn had secretly conducted with Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in his jungle hideout before the arrest of the cartel boss.
Penn Produces Ukraine Documentary for Vice Studios, an American-Canadian digital media and broadcast company, according to Hollywood trade Variety publication.