<\/p>\n
When Kieran Culkin announced at the Academy Awards on Sunday that Sean Penn had won Best Supporting Actor for his turn as\u00a0the menacing military colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another<\/a>,<\/em> Penn was nowhere to be found. It turns out that the actor had opted for a meeting <\/a>with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instead of the Hollywood ceremony.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian president later posted a photo<\/a> of them together on X,\u00a0<\/a>writing in the caption, \u201cSean, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n Penn, who has spent significant time in Ukraine since Russia\u00a0launched its invasion in 2022, was also honored by\u00a0Ukraine\u2019s state rail group, Ukrzaliznytsia. The Ukrainian railway said in an X post that it knew the actor had missed the Academy Awards, so the company \u201cgave him one of his own\u201d \u2014 an Oscar made from the \u201cmetal of a railway car damaged by russian shelling.\u201d The railway called the gesture a \u201csymbol of resilience\u201d and shared a video of Penn being gifted the statue.<\/p>\n Penn, who has also won two previous Oscars for Best Actor \u2014 for Mystic River <\/em>in 2003 and Milk<\/em> in 2009\u2014 previously gifted Ukraine<\/a> one of his statuettes during a visit to the country. \u201cWhen you win, bring it back to Malibu,\u201d Penn told Zelensky at the time. \u201cBecause I\u2019ll feel much better knowing there\u2019s a piece of me here.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, Penn and director Aaron Kaufman released their documentary, Superpower,<\/em> on Ukraine and Zelensky amid Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n Best of Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n