Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Hollywood star Sean Penn made headlines after skipping the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles despite winning an Oscar earlier that night. Instead of attending the glitzy event at the Dolby Theatre, the actor travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Penn, 65, won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the political thriller One Battle After Another. However, he chose not to attend the ceremony and was seen arriving in Ukraine’s capital on Monday morning.
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Ukraine’s state railway operator shared a short video showing Penn stepping out of a train in central Kyiv. The operator said the visit had been kept secret until the last moment and later confirmed the news on social media, writing that the actor had chosen to visit Ukraine instead of attending the Oscars.
Soon after, Zelenskyy shared a photograph from their meeting at the presidential office in Kyiv’s heavily guarded government district. The image showed the Ukrainian leader speaking with Penn, who appeared in a casual T-shirt and jeans.
Thanking the actor for his continued support, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that Penn has stood with Ukraine since the early days of the war. He described the Oscar-winning actor as a “true friend of Ukraine.”
Penn has been a vocal supporter of the country during its ongoing war with Russia and has visited Ukraine several times in recent years. He also directed a documentary about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which premiered in February 2023.
In 2022, the actor had even lent one of his previous Oscar statuettes to Zelenskyy as a symbol of solidarity, asking the Ukrainian leader to return it once the country wins the war.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
