Sean Penn Hands His Oscar Trophy to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy During Visit to Ukraine
“When you win, bring it back to Malibu,” the actor told Zelenskyy in a video posted by the Ukrainian President on Instagram Tuesday
Sean Penn gave one of his Oscar statuettes to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to Ukraine to express his support for the country amid the Russian invasion.
In a video posted to Instagram by Zelenskyy, 44, on Tuesday, the two-time Academy Award winner can be seen handing the Oscar to the Ukrainian leader during their meeting at the country’s capital, Kyiv.
“It’s just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here with you, then I’ll feel better and strong enough for the fights,” Penn, 62, told Zelenskyy in the clip. “When you win, bring it back to Malibu because I’ll feel much better knowing there’s a piece of me here.”
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Zelenskyy noted in the Instagram caption that Penn “came to Ukraine for the third time during the full-scale war already.”
“This time our meeting was special,” he wrote. “Sean brought his Oscar statuette as a symbol of faith in the victory of our country. It will be in Ukraine until the end of the war.”
To show the country’s appreciation of Penn’s gesture, Zelenskyy gifted the actor with the Order of Merit of the III degree for his “sincere support and significant contribution to the popularization of Ukraine in the world!”
Throughout his career, Penn earned two Oscars in the best actor category — one in 2004 for Mystic River and another in 2009 for Milk.
During the chat with Zelenskyy in the clip, Penn also told him, “There are three places in the world that all the pride of my life will be. The place where my daughter was born, the place where my son was born, and this.”
Earlier this year, Penn traveled to Ukraine to work on an upcoming documentary about political tensions, chronicling the invasion and war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
His visit had prompted Russian officials to put him on the list of names permanently banned from entering Russia.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE in February, Penn expressed his thoughts on the horrors that the Ukrainian people are facing.
“[It is] already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken, and if he doesn’t relent, I believe [Russian president] Mr. [Vladimir] Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind,” he said at the time.
“President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle,” he continued. “Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams.”
Penn told Hollywood Authentic magazine in April that he even thought about fighting on behalf of Ukraine.
“If you’ve been in Ukraine [fighting] has to cross your mind,” he said at the time. “And you kind of think what century is this? Because I was at the gas station in Brentwood the other day and I’m now thinking about taking up arms against Russia? What the f— is going on?”
Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
Details of the fighting change by the day, but hundreds of civilians have already been reported dead or wounded, including children. Millions of Ukrainians have also fled, the United Nations says.
The invasion, ordered by Putin, has drawn condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,” he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE’s complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.
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