Angelina Jolie has always used her platform for good, often visiting active conflict zones and standing up for civilians, children, and refugees. The activist and voice for humanitarian efforts has gone places many people would never step foot, and her latest visit to the embattled Ukrainian city of Kherson this week is her latest example.
Former city council member Vitaliy Bohdanov shared the news of her visit on Facebook on November 5. In the photos, Jolie is wearing a bulletproof vest.
In Kherson, local media say she visited a maternity hospital, a children’s hospital, and played with kids in a toy-strewn ward. She met with the regional military administration, who reportedly gave her a commemorative “Kherson” coin as recognition of her efforts, per Kyiv Post.
The 50-year-old Academy Award winners' visit to Kherson comes at a dangerous time - the area has been under regular shelling since Russia’s invasion.
Angelina Jolie, the activist
Jolie walks into places where civilians live the nightmare of war, and she's always been a voice for Ukraine. In 2022, she wrote on Instagram, “Like many of you, I’m praying for the people in Ukraine… My focus … is that everything possible is done to ensure the protection and basic human rights of those displaced."
For the Salt star, this kind of field presence is part of her goals to work directly with affected communities. In 2022, during a surprise visit to Lviv, Ukraine, she said she was “humbled to witness the resilience and courage and dignity of the Ukrainian people in the face of the terror and trauma of a war they did not choose," per ITV.
When she announced stepping down from her UNHCR role, she said, “After 20 years working within the U.N. system, I feel it is time for me to work differently, engaging directly with refugees and local organisations," per Euro News.
Jolie’s history with refugee and war-zone work runs deep. Back when she served with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - first as Goodwill Ambassador, then Special Envoy - she didn’t shy away from the hard scenes. She’s traveled to Iraq, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pakistan, to name a few.
On the broader refugee crisis, she’s even more direct. In 2015, she commemorated World Refugee Day with Syrian refugees in Turkey by calling for action. “We are here for a simple reason: This region is at the epicentre of a global crisis. Nearly 60 million people are displaced from their homes," she said, per UNHCR.
And in 2020, she told Vogue India, “I see all people as equal. I see the abuse and suffering, and I cannot stand by. Around the world, people are fleeing gas attacks, rape, female genital mutilation, beatings, persecution, and murder." "They do not flee to improve their lives. They flee because they cannot survive otherwise," she said.