Jessica Chastain took to Instagram to look back on her trip to Ukraine in early August. "It took me a few weeks to process everything I saw on my trip to Kyiv," she begins her post, in which she shared a video clip with various images from her trip.
"We landed in Poland, drove four hours and then took the train for another eleven hours. I was nervous and the length of the journey gave me time to calm down. I will now start to share with you what I saw." , explains the actress, who can be seen in the video, among other things, on a car ride and walking next to destroyed houses.
One of the experiences of this "life-changing journey" was a visit to the Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital, she continues her account. She had the opportunity to meet wonderful children and the director Volodymyr Zhovnir. "The children amazed me with their hope and strength. Many had been displaced from their homes and spent months in the hospital," says Chastain. In the video she shares impressions of the encounters with the children, one of whom gives her a handmade picture as a farewell gift. "It's a huge humanitarian crisis in Ukraine," she ends her post. "We cannot forget the innocents affected by senseless acts of violence. I will always be grateful to have met these sweet little children with big, brave hearts."
In Kyiv, Chastain also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office. Zelenskyy then shared pictures of Chastain's visit via his Telegram account. "American actress Jessica Chastain is in Ukraine today," he wrote. "For us, such visits by famous personalities are extremely valuable," the President continued. "Thanks to you, the world will hear, know and understand even more the truth about what is happening in our country. Thank you for your support!"
Jessica Chastain, who won the Oscar for best actress for "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" this year, has long supported Ukraine. She is not the first Hollywood star in Ukraine since the Russian war of aggression: Ben Stiller made a solidarity visit to Volodymyr Zelenskyj in June, Sean Penn stayed in the country in February to shoot a documentary.
