The symbolic statue was made from the metal of a railcar damaged by a Russian attack<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen Kieran Culkin announced at the Academy Awards on Sunday that Sean Penn<\/a> had won Best Supporting Actor for his turn as\u00a0the menacing military colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another<\/a>, 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 \n\tThe 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<\/a> 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 \n\tPenn, 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 \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n Sean Penn came to Ukraine and missed the Academy Awards \u2014 so Ukrainian railway gave him one of his own.<\/p>\n This Oscar was made of the metal of a railway car damaged by russian shelling. A symbol of resilience. \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udfac pic.twitter.com\/7h7TdA5MbS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ukrainian railways || \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0437\u0430\u043b\u0456\u0437\u043d\u0438\u0446\u044f (@Ukrzaliznytsia) March 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n\tPenn, who has also won two previous Oscars<\/a> for Best Actor \u2014 for Mystic River in 2004 and Milk 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\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn 2023, Penn and director Aaron Kaufman released their documentary, Superpower, on Ukraine and Zelensky amid Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n \t\n