Angelina Jolie, the Oscar award-winning actress, humanitarian and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, took a surprise trip to the Ukrainian city of Kherson.
On Nov. 5, former city council member Vitalii Bohdanov announced Jolie’s visit in a post on Facebook, writing: “Angelina Jolie in Kherson.”
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He accompanied the post with a picture of the Hollywood actress wearing a bulletproof vest in what appeared to be a basement.
Local media and Telegram channels reported that Jolie had traveled as part of a charitable aid program to support civilians in war-torn regions of Ukraine and that she visited medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and children’s hospital.
In photos circulated on social media, she can be seen sitting with children in a room full of toys.
It was also reported that the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration had presented Jolie with a commemorative “Kherson” coin to mark her visit.
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Jolie’s visit was reportedly interrupted by an incident involving one of her drivers in the neigboring Mykolaiv region. According to RBC-Ukraine, the man was detained by representatives of the territorial recruitment center in Pivdennoukrainsk after her motorcade was stopped at a checkpoint.
Despite his pleas that he was escorting “an important person, a peacekeeper,” the driver is said to have been taken to their office, where he was detained for an unspecified but “long” period of time -- with the other vehicles that made up Jolie’s escort following behind.
His release was reportedly secured when Jolie visited the building in person to intervene on his behalf.
Jolie has been a vocal advocate for Ukraine throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion. In March 2022, she visited Ukrainian children at a pediatric hospital just outside of Vatican City.
“I am praying for an end to the war. This is the only way to end the suffering and the flight from the conflict zone. It’s terrifying to see children paying the price in lost lives, compromised health and trauma,” she said at the time, according to the clinic.
Later in 2022, the actress and filmmaker visited Lviv in western Ukraine to meet with injured children, displaced people and volunteers.
In May this year, Jolie paid tribute to the late Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina in a speech at the Cannes Film Festival.
“We know that many artists around the world lack the freedom and security to tell their stories, and many have lost their lives, like Fatima Hassouna, killed in Gaza, Shaden Gardood killed in Sudan, and Victoria Amelina killed in Ukraine,” Jolie was reported to have said.
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