Ukrainian actor and TV host Pasha Lee killed by Russian shelling at age 33: reports

• Famed Ukrainian actor and TV host Pasha Lee was killed by Russian shelling at age 33, according to local reports.
• Lee was reportedly killed in an attack on Irpin after joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ukrainian actor and TV host Pasha Lee has been killed by Russian shelling near Kyiv, according to multiple reports.

The 33-year-old actor was died on Sunday in Irpin, a suburb of Ukraine's capital city, Deadline reported, citing local news reports.

Lee had joined the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine last week to defend his country against the ongoing Russian invasion, according to a Facebook post from the Odesa Film Festival, which also reported the star's death.

"People of culture should do what they know best — culture, not war," Anna Machuh, chief executive officer of the Odesa International Film Festival, told Insider in a statement following Lee's death. "However, the full-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine on February 24 completely changed the situation and the life of every Ukrainian."

"Pasha Lee is a real hero," Machuh continued. "From the very first days he stood up for the defense of his country. His death at the hands of the Russian occupiers is a huge loss for the entire Ukrainian film industry. We will never recover from it and we will never forget his talent."

"If the war does not end today, there will be even more of these losses," Machuh added. "After all, representatives of the Ukrainian film industry left en masse to fight the aggressor. While the world silently watches the war in Ukraine, our directors, actors, and producers continue to fight off the enemy in their native land at the cost of their own lives."

Lee was known for his roles in "‎Meeting of Classmates," "The Fight Rules," and "Zvychayna Sprava."

Lee was also a TV host on the DOM Channel in Ukraine and did dubbing work in "The Lion King" and "The Hobbit," Deadline reported.

In an Instagram post on Friday, Lee's official account shared an image of him in camouflage.