Sean Penn was expected at the Oscars ceremony; he is in Ukraine for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky

American actor Sean Penn, who won his third Oscar on Sunday at a ceremony from which he was absent, is in kyiv to “support Ukraine” and should be received on Monday by President Volodymyr Zelensky, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP. “He’s in Ukraine, but it’s a private visit”this official told AFP. “He just wants to support Ukraine”he added. Sean Penn, one of kyiv’s Hollywood backers, has already visited Ukraine several times since the Russian invasion began in 2022. The 65-year-old actor plans to next visit “on the front” in Ukraine, another Ukrainian source told AFP.

Crowned in the category of best supporting actor in the film One battle after another Sean Penn, one of kyiv’s Hollywood backers, has already visited Ukraine several times since the Russian invasion of that country began in 2022.

He also co-directed the documentary in 2023 Superpower , filmed at the start of the war in Ukraine, on Volodymyr Zelensky, himself a former actor and humorist. The film, an admiring portrait of Zelensky charting his spectacular journey from comedian to warlord, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2023. In interviews looking back at the early months of the invasion of Ukraine, Penn and Zelensky struck up what they both described as a deep friendship. In 2025, Sean Penn and rock star Bono made a strong appeal to the West to support Ukraine at the Cannes Film Festival, posing for photos on the red carpet with Ukrainian soldiers.