Sean Penn lends Zelensky his Oscar, which he will leave in kyiv until victory

The American actor Sean Penn (Santa Monica, California, 62 years old) has met this Tuesday with the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, in kyiv.

The reason for this meeting in the Ukrainian capital was a loan: the American interpreter has given him one of the two Oscars he has received throughout his career —for

in 2004, and for

in 2008—who will stay with the president in Ukraine until the country wins the war against Russia.

"This is yours.

It's just symbolic nonsense.

Knowing that this is with you, I feel better and it gives me more strength to fight, ”Penn told him during the award ceremony for his statuette.

"When you win, you can bring her back to Malibu," he joked with the politician, who a few years ago became known for his acting side.

"This time our meeting was very special," Zelenski explained after the meeting, held on November 8, through his Facebook account, "Sean brought his statuette as a symbol of faith in the victory of our country."

During the meeting, the president presented Penn with the Third Class Order of Merit, thanking him for his "sincere support and important contribution to the popularization of Ukraine in the world."

Later, both went to the place in kyiv where a plaque has been installed in honor of the actor, and which is called the alley of courage.

The actor at the ceremony for his Oscar, an award that will remain in Ukraine until the end of the war.AP

Sean Penn and Volodymyr Zelensky are old acquaintances, since it is not the first time that the Hollywood star has visited Ukraine since the invasion of the country by Russian troops began on February 24.

At the beginning of March, the actor moved to kyiv with the intention of shooting a documentary about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as confirmed by his production company Vice Studio.

“Ukraine is the spearhead for the democratic embrace of dreams.

If we allow them to fight alone, the soul of the United States will have been lost, ”said the actor at the time.

Penn was seen at different press conferences offered by members of the Ukrainian government and met with the president during some of the most critical moments of the conflict that is still going on.

Later, in June, he returned to continue working on the documentary,

at which point he met again with Zelensky.

This would be his third visit to the country.

Actor Sean Penn points to the commemorative plaque in his name as he chats with Ukraine's president in the city of kyiv.

STR (AFP)

This fact has earned the actor a powerful enemy, Russia.

The country's Foreign Ministry has included the American actor in one of its blacklists: Sean Penn is prohibited from stepping on Russian territory, in which no production company shows his films in theaters to avoid accusations.

Another actor banned from the country is Ben Stiller, who also visited Ukraine on June 20 and defined Zelenski as "a hero."

For their latest positions, a long series of actors and artists of all kinds, such as Angelina Jolie (47 years old), actress and special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who made a surprise visit to Lviv in May, or Demna , the creative director of the Balenciaga firm (one of the first fashion houses to position itself against Russia), could suffer the same fate.

For more than a decade, Sean Penn has used his status as an international star to give a voice to humanitarian causes of different stripes through his charity CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort).

Through this organization he offered help during the health crisis caused by covid, distributing screening tests and administering vaccines in vulnerable neighborhoods in the United States.

In 2019, he collaborated in the rescue and reconstruction efforts in the Bahamas after the scourge of Hurricane Dorian at the same time that he traveled to Turkey to shoot a documentary about the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October of the previous year.

His meddling in politics and geopolitical conflicts has also earned him criticism and he has made quite a few enemies.

Especially,