US actor Sean Penn, in Kyiv for the Oscars, receives a unique statuette crafted from a Russian-damaged train carriage, a symbol of Ukrainian resilience

KYIV: US actor Sean Penn has been gifted a symbolic Oscar statuette made from the metal of a Ukrainian train carriage damaged in a Russian strike.

Penn skipped Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, where he won Best Supporting Actor, to visit Ukraine instead.

Ukraine’s state rail company, Ukrzaliznytsia, presented the unique award to ensure the star received a trophy during his Kyiv trip.

The company stated the statuette, carved from a flat piece of carriage metal, serves as “a symbol of resilience”.

Penn is a vocal advocate for Ukraine and has visited the country multiple times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.

He previously gifted one of his own Oscar statuettes to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a 2022 visit.

Zelensky told AFP in February that Penn’s winning film, “One Battle After Another”, was among his most recently watched.

The actor had also won two previous Oscars for his roles in “Mystic River” and “Milk”.

 The Sun Malaysia