Jessica Chastain.Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images
The Oscar-winning actress, 44, took to Instagram Thursday to share footage of her trip to the region in early August, writing in a caption that she “needed a few weeks to process everything” she saw.
The trip began in Poland, she wrote, where her group landed before driving four hours and taking a train for another 11 hours, then arriving in Kyiv.
“I was nervous and the length of the journey gave me time to calm myself,” she wrote.
The number of refugees from Ukraine “now stands at 5.1 million who’ve left for the European Union countries, another 7.7 million were internally displaced.”
Elsewhere in the footage, the actress writes messages of encouragement for the children, such as, “You are so brave,” and accepts handmade artwork a young girl made her as a gift.
The powerful trip included a visit to a children’s hospital, she added, writing that she met withchildren who had been displacedamid the war.
“One of the experiences from this life changing trip was my visit to the children’s hospital: Ohmatdyt,” Chastain wrote. “I had the opportunity to meet incredible children and the director, Volodymyr Zhovnir.”
She continued: “The children amazed me with their hope and strength. Many had been displaced from their homes and spent months in the hospital.”
As Chastain noted, the displaced children are illustrative of “a huge humanitarian crisis going on in the Ukraine.”
While in Ukraine, Chastainmet withUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, who Variety reports shared photos of the meeting on Telegram, along with the caption: “American actress Jessica Chastain is in Ukraine today. For us, such visits of famous people are extremely valuable. Thanks to this, the world will hear, know and understand the truth about what is happening in our country even more. Thanks for the support!”
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Meanwhile, Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after its forces first launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine.ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy meanwhile, has vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
Russia has denied targeting civilians but Zelenskyy and other world leaders, including U.S. PresidentJoe Biden, have accused the invading forces and Putin ofwar crimes, includinggenocide, igniting calls for investigations and, eventually, accountability.
source: people.com
