Actor Sean Penn has tearfully detailed his touching relationship with the late Ukrainian pilot who led the “Ghost of Kyiv” unit, while ripping into US “cowards” for not doing more in Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Penn — whose documentary about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “Superpower,” was released in September — recalled to Piers Morgan in an interview aired Wednesday that Ukrainian fighter Andriy Pilshchykov was “a very poetic creature, not what you would expect from the top gun.
“He’s a great leader, and I know a lot of people in his squadron, and he’s really just like any individual, that they talk about when they make decisions. [the] one time, ‘Ghost of Kyiv,’ ” Penn told Morgan in the chat, which ran this week and is scheduled to air on Fox Nation.
In Penn’s documentary, the actor, 63, and Pilshchykov, 30, went to see Tom Cruise’s fighter pilot film “Top Gun: Maverick” together during a trip to Washington, DC.
“I was sitting next to him, and he leaned over at one point after Tom Cruise came out and found his way in his dusty flight suit to the diner, and [Pilshchykov] leaned over, and he said, ‘That’s why I always take my wallet,’ ” Penn recalled.
Sean Penn recalled his relationship with Ukrainian “Ghost of Kyiv” fighter pilot Andriy Pilshchykov during an interview with Piers Morgan that will air on Fox Nation on Wednesday. Talk TV
Pilshchykov, also known by his nickname “Juice,” played a key role in Ukraine’s air defenses during the early stages of the Russian invasion. He became one of the faces of Ukraine’s elite air force unit and was the pilot around whom the story of the “Ghost of Kyiv” — a story that spread around the world about an unstoppable Ukrainian player who shot down numerous Russian planes in the country’s capital — was . created.
Penn and Pilshchykov became close during the filming of the Hollywood star’s documentary, with the pair eventually traveling to DC together to lobby the US government to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
“I’d like to say that we became friends,” Penn said, adding that Pilshchykov was “the furthest thing you’d think of from a military man, and a wonderful spirit and a great sense of humor.
“We kept in touch after we spent time in Washington,” the actor said. “It’ll be on an encrypted line that he’s OK with, and I might say, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ He said, ‘Just going for a ride,’ because they’re always fighting.”
Andriy Pilshchykov is one of the fighter pilots around whom the “Ghost of Kyiv” myth was created. He died in August. Penn’s documentary began as a profile of actor-turned-Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky but pivoted after war broke out in the middle of filming.AP
Pilshchykov was killed during a training accident in August, just as the F-16 was finally ready for Ukrainian use.
Penn agreed that learning of his fellow hero’s death was a “sad moment” — while criticizing the US for failing to fully commit its resources to Ukraine.
“I think there’s a point where caution becomes cowardice,” he said. “It’s very disappointing, it breaks my heart, we’ve been given this opportunity and so far we’ve let it down more than we’ve supported it.”
Penn’s interview aired on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on Fox Nation on Wednesday. The documentary, available on Paramount +, begins as a profile of actor-turned-Ukrainian President Zelenskyy when Russia invades Ukraine midway through filming.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
