Actor and television host Pasha Lee, 33, gave up his career on-screen to fight for his country as Russia invades Ukraine.
He joined the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine just last week. After he joined the armed forces, he shared photos of himself in uniform on social media when time allowed.
The President of Ukraine’s National Union of Journalists, Sergiy Tomilenko, confirmed Lee’s death on Facebook.
Actor and TV host Pasha Lee killed by Russian shelling
Tomilenko reported that Lee died on Sunday.
Tomilenko wrote, “Head of the UATV/DOM Platform Julia Ostrovska at the request of the NSJU confirms the death of the TV channel ‘DOM’, film actor and dubbing Pavel Li (Pasha Li). He went to fight for Ukraine from the first days of the war and died in Irpen, where there are still fierce battles with Russian occupants.”
Ostrovsk said that Lee “was the most joyful and sunny.”
Lee’s last post on Instagram featured a photo of himself and another soldier. The translated caption reads, “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 !!!”
Who is Pasha Lee?
Pasha Lee was born in Crimea. Also known as Pavel Li or Pasha Li, Lee worked in film, advertising, and did voice dubs for several popular movies such as The Lion King and The Hobbit.
One of Lee’s costars, Anastasiya Kasilova, said that Lee “is an actor, TV presenter, my colleague and a good acquaintance.”
Kasilova worked with Lee on the TV drama Provincial, which was one of Lee’s final projects.
Lee was reportedly killed by shelling in Irpen. Though not all of the details about his personal life have been released, his Instagram page is full of pictures that he shared with his fans.
Some photos included shots of himself in the gym. In the caption, he asked Instagram users, “how do you celebrate your spring?”
In January, he shared a set of photos of himself and other family members. When translated, the caption reads, “OUR GRANDMA AND GRANDCHILDREN. At Christmas we got together, because time is like honey, then it is, then it is immediately gone. There was a man became a grandfather. There was a baby, she became a plump [smile emoji].”
He continued, “In short, we are the future our parents deserve. And vice versa. I loved the time with children, the future I deserved. What you sow is what you reap, eat delicious carrots [carrot emoji].”
Another post from January features Lee wishing his mother a happy birthday.
Part of the caption translates to, “THANK YOU for every day of my life, it is a blessing to have such a mother! A beauty in the whole world!!! Master of sports in ski jumping, choreographer, cook, soul of the company, inspirer, simplifier, leader, magical MESHANKA, WOMAN DREAM – BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY FOR MANY YEARS.”
He ended the post with a simple and sweet, “LOVE YOU!!!”
Although some of the details of his life may remain a mystery with language barriers and unknown information, Pasha Lee appeared to live his life to the fullest and loved his family. It’s clear that he will be missed by many.