Sean Penn Skipped the Oscars to Meet With President Zelenskyy in Ukraine, Who Thanks Him as a ‘True Friend’ to the Country

Sean Penn won his third Oscar Sunday night for supporting actor for his role as Colonel Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” but he was missing from the awards show.

Penn skipped the ceremony to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader posted a photo of them together on X, thanking the actor and activist. Zelenskyy 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.”

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.