Oscar-winning American actor and filmmaker Sean Penn has gotten a tattoo of the Ukrainian trident symbol, Serhii Leshchenko, an advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said.
The Hollywood actor has visited Ukraine nine times since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to Leshchenko.
“Coming in 2022 was fashionable, and there was a queue of those willing to visit. But in 2025, only true friends come who feel a connection with Ukrainian land and our people. Now as a memento, you have a trident tattoo that you brought from the front,” Leshchenko said.
Penn recently visited Ukraine’s 3rd Special Operations Regiment named after Prince Sviatoslav the Brave. The military shared a video message from the actor in which he expressed confidence that Ukraine would win the war.
Penn was in Ukraine on the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. He documented events in the country and had a brief meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The actor returned to Ukraine for a second time in June 2022. He expressed a desire to visit settlements affected by Russian aggression. Zelenskyy presented him with the Order of Merit, III degree.
During his third visit, Penn brought his Oscar statuette and gave it to the Ukrainian president as a symbol of belief in Ukraine’s victory. The statuette will remain in Ukraine until the end of the war.
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