Angelina Jolie Makes Surprise Visit to Refugees and Children in Lviv, Ukraine

Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for RFF

Actress Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to Lviv, Ukraine on Saturday and spoke with refugees who fled eastern Ukraine to the city.

“The visit was a surprise to us all,” Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said on Telegram, per the AP. “Plenty of people who saw Ms. Jolie in the Lviv region could not believe that it was really her. But since Feb. 24, Ukraine has shown the entire world that there are plenty of incredible things here.”

A video shared on Facebook by by journalist Mayya Podgorodetskaya also showed Jolie grabbing coffee and signing autographs at a Ukrainian coffee shop.

Kozytskyy said Jolie met with boarding school students and refugees, including children undergoing treatment for injuries sustained during Russia’s attack on the Kramatorsk railway station in early April.

The missile strike appeared to primarily target citizens fleeing from eastern Ukraine and left at least 52 dead and dozens more wounded.

Reuters reported that Jolie’s visit was cut short due to air raid sirens sounding.

Jolie is the United Nations Special Envoy for Refugees, however, a UNHCR spokesperson told Insider that the United Nations agency was not involved in the visit and that she visited the region in a “personal capacity.”