Bodyguards were conscripted by Ukrainian military mobilization, and a Hollywood star personally went to Kherson to rescue him; American identity is effective!
In late October 2025, the renowned Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie visited the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson as a special envoy of the UN Refugee Agency. The original plan was to examine post-war reconstruction and humanitarian aid projects, but the trip unexpectedly turned into a diplomatic-level "rescue operation" midway.
According to local Ukrainian media reports and on-site surveillance footage, on October 24, while Angelina Jolie's group was traveling from Odessa to Kherson, they were stopped at a checkpoint in the Nikopol region. One of her Ukrainian male bodyguards was detained on the spot by local military mobilization personnel. The reason given was that the man was between 18 and 60 years old, falling within the legal conscription range, and had no valid exemption record in the system, suspected of evading conscription.
Since Ukraine implemented a full-scale military mobilization in February 2022, it has repeatedly strengthened its conscription enforcement. According to data published by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense at the end of 2024, more than 1.2 million people have been conscripted nationwide, with approximately 37% being new mobilization targets after 2023. Starting from spring 2025, local conscription offices have been authorized to directly detain suspected evaders of conscription at highway checkpoints, train stations, and even in residents' homes without a court warrant.
Within hours of the incident, Jolie herself personally went to a conscription center in Nikopol to negotiate. Surveillance footage showed that she was not wearing sunglasses, wearing a black jacket, and entered the office area accompanied by two U.S. security personnel, staying for about 40 minutes. That evening, the bodyguard was released and continued to accompany her for the rest of the trip.
It is worth noting that Article 23 of the Ukrainian Military Service Law states that all eligible male citizens cannot leave the country unless they hold a special exemption certificate. However, the law does not explicitly state whether local employees hired by foreign citizens can be temporarily exempted due to "diplomatic or international missions." Nevertheless, Jolie, as an American citizen and a high-level envoy of the UN Refugee Agency, clearly triggered some sort of "informal channel."
Original source: www.toutiao.com/article/1848024744109320/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.