“Mom, I am very needed here,” – the mother of the famous Ukrainian actor and TV host Pavlo Li shared his life and tragic end. 

The life story of Pavlo Li, a well-known Ukrainian actor and TV host, and his tragic demise, is not just a tale of a brilliant talent cut short at the beginning. It’s also the story of a Ukrainian who simply wanted to live and work, fulfill himself, make plans for the future, and tragically lost his life on March 6, 2022, from the bullets of hardened Russian soldiers in a car in Irpin, just outside Kyiv.

– Mom, I am very needed here! – was Pavlo Li’s response shortly before his death to his mother’s plea for him to leave the dangerous city. Mariya Vasylivna understands her son; it was a choice typical of this “star talent.” 

Today, Pavlo’s dearest person – his mother – shares his life and tragic end with the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.

Pavlo was born on July 10, 1988, in Yevpatoriya, in a family of a Korean musician, Roman Mykolayovych Li, and a Galician choreographer, Mariya Vasylivna Li. From childhood, he was fascinated by the stage, and loved the scent of theater curtains. He took part in theatrical productions from his early school years. Representatives of the Kyiv Children’s Academy of Arts noticed him and invited him to study in the capital.

In 2004, Pavlo got his first full-fledged film role in a Ukrainian thriller, “Shtolnia.” Later, he appeared in several films, with his last being “Myrnyi-21,” which tells the story of the heroism of Luhansk border guards in 2014. The well-known photo of Pavlo in military uniform is from the filming of this movie. He also took part in the “Star Factory” show, actively dubbed films in Ukrainian, became a dubbing director, and performed in the theater with People’s Artist of Ukraine Ada Rogovtseva. He created his acting courses and worked as a TV host on the “Dim” channel.

– Working on television was very appealing to Pavel, – says Mariya Li. – He always had ideas. Sometimes he invited me to talk about the Carpathians or to have a conversation with the director Akhtem Seitablaiev.

With the outbreak of the large-scale war, Pavlo approached the Irpin city council, where he had been living in recent years, and asked to join the local volunteer group. Volunteers took calls from people, responded to various critical situations, and delivered humanitarian aid to the elderly, the sick, and large families who remained in the city and couldn’t take care of themselves.

On March 5, they received information at the volunteer headquarters that the Russians had entered Irpin. The power went out, and massive shelling began. Volunteers had to stop distributing humanitarian aid. They all spent the night together in the apartment of the city councilor, Violetta Dvornikova. The next day, March 6, they were supposed to evacuate. But Pavlo Li, Iryna Mygytko, and Taras Melnyk decided to visit their homes before that. At the time, no one knew that the part of the city they went to had already been occupied.

Only Iryna and Taras returned. They reported that Pavlo had been shot by Russian military personnel while driving through the city.

A few days after Pavlo’s death, volunteer Maxym Shevchenko located and transported his body from Irpin. Pavlo’s mother then laid him to rest in the Carpathians on March 18, following Christian customs, as Pavlo was a believer.

By the order of the President of Ukraine on June 6, 2022, actor and TV host Pavlo Li was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage” of the III degree upon the recommendation of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.

Mariya Li initiated the installation of a memorial sign in Irpin near the place of Pavlo’s death. On March 31, 2023, the monument was unveiled. The Moscow Street in Kyiv now bears the name of Pavlo Li.

This series, titled Executed Free Speech, is created as part of a project Drawing Ukrainian And International Audience’s Attention To Serious Violations Of Human Rights And Crimes Against Journalists And Mass Media By The Russian Federation,  which is performed by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, with support from the Swedish non-profit organization Civil Rights Defenders.

JOURNALISTS ARE IMPORTANT. Stories of Life and Work in Conditions of War is a cycle of materials prepared by the team of the NUJU with the support of the Swedish human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders.

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