Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, where she spent some time with children affected by the war, volunteers and refugees.
Her visit was announced on Telegram by Lviv Regional State Administration Maksym Kozytskyy, The Associated Press reported.
Jolie, 46, met and spoke with internally displaced Ukrainians — including children hurt in an attack in the eastern city of Kramatorsk earlier this month — who have found refuge in Lviv.
“She visited children who suffered from a missile strike by the Russian military on the Kramatorsk train station,” Kozytskyy said, according to CNN.
“She was very moved by their stories. One girl was even able to tell Ms. Jolie about her dream privately,” he added.
According to Kozytskyy, Jolie also met with evacuees arriving at Lviv’s central railway station, and with volunteers helping those who have been displaced.
The station has become a haven for people fleeing the bloody war. “She thanked (volunteers) for their work,” Kozytskyy said. “She talked to people who managed to leave the zones of active hostilities.”
“(The children) must be in shock,” Jolie told the volunteers, according to Reuters.
“I know how trauma affects children, I know just having somebody show how much they matter, how much their voices matter, I know how healing that is for them,” she said.
The Hollywood actress, filmmaker and humanitarian has served as a special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 2011.
According to the agency, more than 12.7 million people — or about 30% of Ukraine’s pre-war population — have fled their homes since the beginning of the war, slightly more than two months ago.
