FEATURE

Angelina Jolie visits Ukrainian child refugee in Rome

Hollywood actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie has visited Ukrainian child refugees at the Vatican’s children hospital.

The recipient of Academy Award  puts aside her glamorous life to carry out humanitarian aid work in Rome.

The much-loved star mesmerised kids, who have been forced from their homes and countries due to war, at the Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital outside of Vatican City.

Angelina Jolie, who has been a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 2012, talked with a young child from Ukraine in an Italian children’s hospital.

Jolie, who has carried out work for the United Nations Refugee Agency, paid a visit to the Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital in the Italian capital on March 30.

Touching pictures showed the Hollywood megastar, 46, meeting the children who had been saved from war-torn Ukraine.

Jolie received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her humanitarian work in 2013 and she has been a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 2012.

She has also visited numerous refugee camps across the world including Yemen and Venezuela.

The Hollywood megastar visited child refugees who have been rescued from Ukraine (via REUTERS)
The Hollywood megastar visited child refugees who have been rescued from Ukraine (via REUTERS)

According to the United Nations (UN), 1,232 people have been killed in Ukraine while a further 1,935 civilians have been injured as reported on March 31.

Of those killed, the UN estimates 58 children have died while 81 have also been injured since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The UN also reported up to four million people have fled Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials ahve also warned a humanitarian crisis is evolving in the southern city of Mariupol due to low supplies of water, food and medicine.

There were 45 Ukrainian buses sent to the city in order to attempt to deliver supplies and rescue citizens, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk and the Red Cross said.

The buses departed for Mariupol after the International Committee Red Cross (ICRC) agreed to open a safe corridor with Russia and will also attempt to rescue civilians from the besieged city.

“It’s desperately important that this operation takes place. The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it,” ICRC spokesperson Ewan Watson said.

“For logistics and security reasons, we’ll be ready to lead the safe passage operation tomorrow, Friday, provided all the parties agree to the exact terms, including the route, the start time and the duration.”

Despite the humanitarian crisis, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg warned Russian troops are now relocating to the east to refocus efforts on the Donbas region.

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