As Angelina Jolie tours war-torn Ukraine, her driver is arrested and drafted into the army

During American actress Angelina Jolie’s humanitarian visit to Ukraine on November 5, military draft officers detained her driver, according to multiple reports. That evening, authorities stopped Jolie’s motorcade at a checkpoint in the Mykolaiv region and seized one of the drivers when he couldn’t produce the required documents, then handed him over to the local draft board. A video circulating on Telegram appears to show Jolie arriving at the enlistment center, reportedly to help the detained man.

According to the news agency UNIAN, the driver is a Ukrainian citizen born in 1992 and a reserve officer, but he does not have a valid mobilization deferment. UNIAN reported that Jolie continued her visit after learning the man’s circumstances. “Neither she nor her representatives influenced the work of the draft office staff,” the outlet quoted a source as saying.

The detained driver is expected to join Ukraine’s armed forces under the current mobilization order.

Earlier in the day, Jolie arrived in Ukraine for her second visit since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. She was seen in Kherson, wearing a bulletproof vest, visiting several medical facilities, and meeting with children and local officials. Her first humanitarian visit was to Lviv in April 2022.

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7 months ago