Ben Stiller made a surprise visit to Ukraine recently while he was meeting refugees that had fled the country. The visit was organised by the UNHCR, and consisted of visits to not just Ukraine but also Poland, where Stiller was able to interact with refugees firsthand.

Speaking about the experience, he told AFP, “The stories of the people who experienced the first few days of this war — speaking to them and hearing these really harrowing stories — was very affecting.”

“To see the physical destruction of those neighbourhoods, it’s really massive, and it’s impossible not to be affected by that,” Stiller said.

The visit left a deep impact on the actor, who recalled that a young man he met couldn’t understand what was happening, and that the war felt like “something out of a horror film.”

“To see how traumatised he was — he felt his life had been changed forever. It’s really tough when you hear a young person say that, and you realise the effects of war are not always visible,” Stiller commented.

The visit also consisted of a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. “You’re my hero,” he told Zelensky. The feeling is mutual for not just us but plenty of people who have been keeping an eye on the Ukraine war.

“What you’ve done, the way that you’ve rallied the country, the world, it’s really inspiring,” he told Zelensky.

It was obvious that he had great admiration for the people of Ukraine and how they are continuing to fight back against Russia, an enemy that is enormous in comparison.

“Yesterday, I was in a house that was almost fully collapsed with a woman, and we were sitting in her kitchen. And she was giving us strawberries and had this incredible resilience saying: ‘We have to figure out how to go forward‘. It’s hard not to think ‘how would I react if my house had half collapsed.‘” He recalled.

Because of this unnecessary war, around 12 million people have been displaced. While Zelenksy and his people continue to push back to the best of their ability, the rest of the world is trying to lend a hand where possible.