Volodymyr Zelenskyy Offers Message of Peace During Golden Globes 2023 After Sean Penn Introduction

Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an appearance at the Golden Globes 2023.

During Tuesday's ceremony, the Ukrainian president, 44, appeared via video to share a message of hope after he was introduced by actor and filmmaker Sean Penn, who filmed a documentary concerning Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine over February and March 2022.

"The [Golden Globe Awards were] borne at a special time," he began. "The second World War wasn't over yet, but the tide was turned [and] all knew who would win. There were still battles and tears ahead. It was then when the Golden Globe Awards appeared to honor the best performers of 1943."

"It is now 2023; the war in Ukraine is not over yet, but the tide is turning," Zelenskyy continued. "And it is already clear who will win."

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STR/AFP via Getty; Cindy Ord/Getty Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Sean Penn

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And while "there are still battles and tears ahead," Zelenskyy added, "I can definitely tell you who were the best in the previous year: It was you, the free people of the free world."

"Those who united around the support of the free Ukrainian people in our common struggle for freedom, democracy. For the right to live, to love, to give birth, no matter who you are, no matter where you are from, no matter who you are with. The struggle for the right of the new generations to know about the war only from movies."

NBC Volodymyr Zelenskyy

"The first World War claimed millions of lives; the second World War claimed tens of millions of them. There will be no third world war; it is not a trilogy," Zelenskyy went on. "Ukraine will stop the Russian aggression on our land."

He concluded, "We will make it together with a whole, free world, and I hope that all of you will be with us on the victorious day — the day of our victory. Slava Ukraini."

In December 2022, Time magazine named Zelenskyy its 2022 Person of the Year along with the spirit of Ukraine in honor of the nation's refusal to back down in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression.

"Zelenskyy's success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious," Time reporter Simon Shuster wrote about Zelenskyy's actions in the early moments of the invasion when he famously refused to leave Kyiv, inspiring his people to fight and earning the status of a wartime hero around the world.

In November 2022, Penn, 62, gave one of his Oscar statuettes to Zelenskyy during his most recent visit to Ukraine to express his support for the country amid the Russian invasion.

In a video shared to Instagram by Zelenskyy, Penn could be heard telling the Ukrainian president: "When you win, bring it back to Malibu because I'll feel much better knowing there's a piece of me here."

The 80th Golden Globe Awards ceremony is currently airing live on NBC and Peacock.