Overview
- - The actress made an unpublicized trip to frontline Kherson, visiting a maternity and children’s hospital and meeting families in underground shelters, according to local reports and widely shared images showing her in protective gear with a Legacy of War patch.
- - The regional recruitment office in Mykolaiv confirmed to POLITICO that a man traveling with Jolie, reported to be her driver, was identified as a reservist lacking a valid medical commission and was ordered to undergo retraining.
- - Ukraine’s Army Land Forces posted and then deleted a statement about the incident, later saying media accounts were distorted and that an investigation is in progress.
- - A senior Ukrainian official told POLITICO the government was not informed of Jolie’s plans and that she entered the country on foot, while Jolie’s representatives declined to comment publicly.
- - Claims circulated by pro‑Russian sources that her team contacted the president’s office to secure the driver’s release remain uncorroborated, as the visit refocused attention on Kherson’s daily Russian strikes and recent U.N. findings that civilians there were intentionally targeted.