Hollywood actor-director Sean Penn visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv recently and met President Volodymyr Zelensky. He presented the president with one of his Oscar trophies to show that he stood in solidarity with all Ukrainians.
Penn has been a supporter of the country in its ongoing war against Russia. He was in Ukraine shooting a documentary in association with VICE Studios on the Russian aggression against the Eastern European nation when the war broke out in February this year. Penn was forced to run and join the citizens of the country on the evacuation across the border.
Sean told President Zelensky that the statuette was ‘a silly symbol’, but he feels strong if it's there. Penn even asked him to bring it back to Malibu when Ukraine wins the war.
Zelensky has posted a video of this gesture on his Instagram handle. He mentioned that this was the third time Penn visited the country during the full-scale war already, and after being presented with his Oscar statuette, with great pleasure he presented Sean Penn with the Order of Merit of the III degree.
Sean Penn has won the Academy Award twice – for his performance in 2003 film 'Mystic River', and the second for the 2008 film 'Milk'.
For the unversed, Zelensky was also an actor and a comedian entering politics.
Earlier this year, Penn praised Zelensky in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper and said that he was endlessly impressed and moved by the way he unified the country.
Thousands of combatants and civilians lost their lives in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
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