On the night of March 15-16, the American Film Academy awarded actor Sean Penn an Oscar for best supporting actor in the film “One Battle After Another.” However, he did not appear at the awards ceremony. At the time, the New York Times reported that Penn preferred to travel to Ukraine.
Now Ukrzaliznytsia has published a video on its social networks showing the arrival of actor Sean Penn at the train station in Kyiv.
“We know how to keep secrets, so we kept quiet about this flight until the last minute. Now we're saying it officially: Sean Penn chose Ukraine instead of the Oscars! And arrived in Kyiv by Ukrzaliznytsia. And we can confirm: Sean Penn did not smoke in the vestibule,” the post says.
For Sean Penn, this was his sixth Oscar nomination and third win (as Best Actor in the films Milk and Mysterious River).
Later, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had met with the actor.
“Thanks to you, Sean, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is. You have been with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war. And today. And we know that you will continue to be with our country and our people,” the president wrote.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sean Penn, March 16, 2026. Telegram/@V_Zelenskiy_official
Sean Penn and Ukraine
Sean Penn has visited Ukraine several times since the start of the full-scale war.
In particular, Penn was in Ukraine at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. He was working on a film about Volodymyr Zelensky's journey from comedian to president of the country, but the film was later transformed and dedicated to the war in Ukraine. The premiere took place at the Berlinale 2023.
During a visit to Kyiv in November 2022, Penn handed Volodymyr Zelensky his Oscar statuette, saying it was a “symbolic trinket” and asking Zelensky to return the award only when Ukraine wins. In return, Sean Penn received the Order of Merit, 3rd degree, from the Ukrainian president.
Sean Penn also starred in the Ukrainian film anthology “War Through the Eyes of Animals” directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytsky. The film's producer, Oleg Kokhan, said that Penn's fee was one dollar – according to the rules of the Screen Actors Guild of America, he cannot work for free.