Hollywood star and Jewish actor Ben Stiller met Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday, hailing the comedian-turned-president as "my hero" for rallying the world's support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion.
"It's a great honor for me.. you're my hero!" said Stiller, a UN goodwill ambassador who met the Ukrainian leader on World Refugee Day.
"What you've done, the way that you've rallied the country, the world, it's really inspiring," said the 56-year-old American comedian referring to Zelensky's countless speeches to audiences around the world to rally support for his embattled country.
Footage of their meeting was released by Zelensky's office.
Earlier on Monday, Stiller visited the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, the scene of fierce battles early on in the invasion and the closest Moscow's army got to the capital since it sent troops into Ukraine in February.
"I feel it's hard to understand what's actually going on here if you haven't been here," he told Zelensky.
"I was in Irpin this morning.. and the actual level of destruction, you see it on TV, you see it on social media, but it's something else to actually see it, feel it, and then to talk to the people," he said.