Pasha Lee went from Ukrainian screen idol to volunteer

ON THE VERY day that Russia invaded, February 24th, Pasha Lee left his job and went to enlist with the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine. He might well have been recognised as he signed up and took the oath to defend the motherland, because his face was famous. It was bright and handsome, with a quiff of well-gelled black hair and a delicate line of beard, and with an oriental cast from his half-Korean father.

His looks had turned him into a boy idol of a sort, and his Instagram page showed him living the dream: buffing his smooth, hard pecs at the gym, sipping coffee in bed in a luxury hotel, posing in sexy shades against backgrounds of soaring skyscrapers or foaming water, adjusting the cuffs of beautiful jackets. Even in more everyday gear, like his smiley-face sweatshirt, he was clearly in love with his phone and himself.