KYIV (Reuters) -Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie has visited one of Ukraine’s most dangerous frontline cities and a neighbouring region, meeting medical staff, volunteers and civilians living under constant attacks from Russian troops.
“At a time when governments around the world are turning their backs on the protection of civilians, their strength, and their support for each other is humbling,” Jolie said in a statement released on Thursday by the Legacy of War Foundation, which supported her visit to Kherson and nearby Mykolaiv.
“The people of Mykolaiv and Kherson live with danger every day, but they refuse to give in,” Jolie said.
Photos showed Jolie in a flak jacket in a basement, and meeting children in a windowless room. The group said she toured medical and educational facilities that had been relocated underground to escape constant Russian attacks.
Kherson, once home to nearly 300,000 people, is the biggest city within range of Russia’s frontline weapons, making it one of Ukraine’s most dangerous cities. It was occupied by Russian forces from March 2022 until they withdrew eight months later across the Dnipro River, where they remain on the opposite bank.
A U.N. inquiry found last month that Russia has been chasing down civilians who live near the front line with drones, forcing thousands to flee in what amounts to a crime against humanity. Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians.
Local officials said Ukraine’s military downed around 2,500 of 2,646 Russian drones launched to attack Kherson region just last week.
“We are very grateful for (Jolie’s visit) and for the fact that people are coming here,” Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of Kherson’s regional administration, told Ukraine’s main state-controlled TV. “Sometimes it seems that we have been forgotten, but we can see that this is not the case.”
Jolie previously came to Ukraine’s western city of Lviv in the spring of 2022 to meet people displaced by the war.
(Reporting by Anastasiia MalenkoEditing by Peter Graff)
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