Sean Penn meets Zelenskyy in Ukraine after skipping Oscars, calls him ‘true fiend’

LOS ANGELES: Actor Sean Penn on Sunday made headlines after he skipped the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles even though he had won an award earlier that night.

The Hollywood star won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the film ‘One Battle After Another.’ However, instead of attending the big event held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Penn seems to have travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian President, on Monday, took to his X to share a picture from a meeting that took place at the presidential office in Kyiv’s heavily guarded government district. In the photo, the Ukrainian leader can be seen talking with Penn, who was dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans.

Along with the picture, Zelenskyy also wrote a caption thanking the actor for standing with Ukraine during the war. Calling him a “true friend,” the Ukrainian leader wrote, “Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is. You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war. This is still true today. And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people.”

Take a look

Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is.
You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war.
This is still true today.
And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people. pic.twitter.com/wGneO1rqJI

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2026

In the Oscars race this year, Penn was nominated alongside actors Benicio del Toro, Stellan Skarsgard, Delroy Lindo, and Jacob Elordi.

This marked Penn’s third Academy Award win. He earlier won the Best Actor award for his performances in Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009. Over the years, he has also received nominations in the same category for films such as Dead Man Walking, Sweet and Lowdown, and I Am Sam. (ANI)