0of 5,000

Help us find 5,000 new members. Bring one friend.

Share your personal link and make us stronger in 2027.

0 found so far

Goal 5,000

News Feed

Sean Penn makes his 4th visit to Ukraine during full-scale war, meets special forces

• 2 min read
Sean Penn makes his 4th visit to Ukraine during full-scale war, meets special forces
Sean Penn poses in the photo booth during AARP's Annual Movies For Grownups Awards at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on Feb. 08, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for AARP)

U.S. actor and film director Sean Penn met with the soldiers of the 3rd Regiment of the Special Operations Forces stationed in Kropyvnytskyi in Kirovohrad Oblast, according to a video posted on the unit's Facebook on April 22.

The actor visited Ukraine for the fourth time during Russia's full-scale invasion.

"Despite a lot of what the politicians are doing, I believe in all of you, and I'm grateful to all of you for being the very best of what we all aspire to be," Penn said.

"You're not only defending your country, you're truly defending the world, and that will be known, you see, and I know you'll prevail, and God bless all of you and your families. Thank you," he added.

On Feb. 24, 2023, Penn presented his documentary "Superpower," filmed in Kyiv, with President Volodymyr Zelensky's participation at the Berlin Film Festival.

Penn's charitable organization, Core Response, financially assisted Ukrainian refugees.

The Ukrainian government awarded Penn the Order of Merit, third degree, for his contribution to supporting Ukraine in 2022.

Penn won the 2004 Academy Award for his role in "Mystic River" and the 2009 Academy Award for his role in "Milk."

Avatar
Kateryna Hodunova

News Editor

Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

Read more
News Feed
 (Updated:  )

The grounding was the first nationwide flight stoppage since January 2023, when an FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that, the last nationwide grounding followed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

 (Updated:  )

Local authorities later on Nov. 13 reported that a rescue worker from the Cobra emergency service was killed when a concrete slab fell on him while he was clearing debris from a building damaged in the Russian attack.

 (Updated:  )

Duka is a suspect in a sweeping investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) into scam call centers. The probe led to the ouster of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who fled Ukraine in September, and implicated senior officials in his office.

Show More