Sean Penn revealed that he has considered joining Ukrainian forces to fight against Russia.
In a recent interview, the 61-year-old actor – who fled Ukraine in February while filming a VICE documentary about Russia’s invasion of the country – discussed returning to the war zone.
“My intention is to go back into Ukraine. But I’m not an idiot, I am not certain what I can offer,” Penn told Hollywood Authentic.
Speaking about his time in the country earlier this year, he added: “The only possible reason for me staying in Ukraine longer last time would’ve been for me to be holding a rifle.”
“So, where I am in life is short of doing that, but if you’ve been in Ukraine [fighting] has to cross your mind. And you kind of think what century is this?” Penn continued.
“I was at the gas station in Brentwood the other day and I’m now thinking about taking up arms against Russia? What the f*** is going on?” he questioned.
Penn has been a prominent voice in speaking out against Russia, previously urging the US to “invest everything” into supporting the country and its people, or lose sight of “what America hoped to be”.
The actor’s nonprofit CORE (Community Organised Relief Effort), which he founded in 2010, is currently supporting Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
“I’ve got plenty to do with CORE on the receiving side of refugees in Poland,” Penn said. “I’m shooting more for the documentary, but I’ll be doing a last-minute assessment of what value that will have.”
He concluded: “Long term, we don’t have any tangible evidence that documentaries really change anything. We just don’t. We only know they can give hope.”
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
