American actor and director Ben Stiller, 56, met on Monday (20) with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, in Kiev. He called the comedian-turned-president ‘my hero’ during a visit to the country to draw attention to World Refugee Day.
A goodwill ambassador to the United Nations, Stiller told the Ukrainian president that the way he has brought the country and the world together to rally support for his struggle is inspiring. “You are my hero. You gave up a great acting career for that,” said the actor.
Footage of the meeting was released by Zelensky’s office. The actor also visited the suburb of Irpin, the scene of battles at the start of the invasion and the closest the Moscow army has come to the capital since sending troops to Ukraine in February.
“I feel like it’s hard to understand what’s really going on here if you haven’t been here. I was in Irpin this morning and the real level of destruction you see on TV, you see on social media, but it’s another thing to really see it, feel it. and then talk to people,” the actor told Zelensky.
Zelensky thanked Stiller for visiting the country and said it was very important for him to keep reminding people of what was happening in Ukraine. “It’s very important for us that people don’t forget. It’s not interesting to talk about the war every day, but for us it’s very important,” the president said.
The United Nations has called the war in Ukraine one of the biggest forced displacements of civilians since World War II. An estimated 13 million Ukrainians have been forced from their homes since Russia invaded the country in late February.
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