Angelina Jolie Pays Surprise Visit to Boxing Club in Northeast Ukraine

Hollywood star and humanitarian Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to a boxing club in the war-hit Ukrainian city of Kharkiv during her latest trip to the country, Ukraine’s boxing federation and the club’s owner said Monday.

The actor, who previously served as a UN special envoy for refugees, has visited Ukraine at least twice since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The Boxing Federation of Ukraine shared a photograph showing Jolie posing at the Spadkoyemets boxing club alongside her son, Knox.

“Famous actress Angelina Jolie visited the Spadkoyemets boxing club in Kharkiv,” the federation said in an Instagram post. It added that Knox took part in a Muay Thai training session at the club alongside Ukrainian defenders.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is located close to the Russian border and has faced repeated Russian artillery, drone and missile attacks since the start of the war.

Pavlo Chyshko, owner of the Spadkoyemets club, said he had no idea Jolie would be the visitor when he received a booking for the gym on Sunday.

“To everyone who asked me — this is not a joke, not AI. It happened completely by chance: Angelina Jolie, to our great delight, dropped by our gym,” Chyshko said in a video posted on Instagram.

He said Jolie praised the gym and asked his son how long he had been practising sports.

“That’s real class. Her son is just the same. He shook hands with everyone. It was really cool,” Chyshko added.