Sean Penn: Putin will be making ‘most horrible mistake for all of humankind’

“Milk” actor Sean Penn warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be making the “most horrible mistake for all of humankind” if he does not relent and stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn’t relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle,” Penn said in a statement. 

“Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams,” he added. “If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost.”

Penn’s comments come as the 61-year-old actor is in Ukraine filming a documentary, which is a Vice Studios production associated with Endeavor Content and Vice World News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Thursday, just two days after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, that over 100 people had died and over 300 others had been injured, though those estimates have grown since then. The U.N. refugee agency estimated on Saturday that close to 116,000 Ukrainians have been displaced since Thursday.

The development shows the staggering change of events that have transpired in over 48 hours, with a handful of countries, including the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S., announcing sanctions against Putin and the Russian foreign minister. 

The deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned on Saturday that Russia could retaliate in response, including freezing Western assets, restoring the death penalty and removing itself from its nuclear arms deal with the U.S., The Associated Press reported.

“We are being driven out of everywhere, punished and threatened, but we don’t feel scared,” Medvedev said on a Russian social media platform, according to the newswire.