The money was raised online by the guy who played Luke Skywalker in the venerable film series.
In the past month alone, actor Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the venerable Star Wars science fiction film series, has delivered over 500 drones to Ukraine via the nation’s United24 fundraising portal. The actor maintained that Ukraine “needs” the weaponry in an interview with Bloomberg Radio on Thursday.
Simply put, Ukraine requires drones. In addition to being the “eyes in the sky,” Hamill said that the unmanned vehicles “define war outcomes, protect their land, their people, monitor the border, and they’re eyes in the sky.” He added that the fundraising platform sent him multiple updates on a weekly basis on their progress acquiring the unmanned vehicles.
Last month, Hamill was selected to serve as an ambassador for United24’s Army of Drones initiative. The project is one of many drone-related fundraising projects launched by Ukrainians to bolster their aerial capabilities. Another, which was introduced earlier this month, raised $9.6 million in just one day from the public to buy kamikaze drones. Since the beginning of 2022, the US has committed to providing Ukraine with nearly $27 billion in military assistance alone.
Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, seems to be a fan of the Star Wars franchise. In a June hologram appearance at a call for technology investments, he made references to the movie while donning a Star Wars-themed version of his typical olive green t-shirt.
Hollywood actors other than Hamill have also lent their fame to the cause of Ukraine. Movie stars appear to have a soft spot for the actor-turned-politician in Kiev, with Benedict Cumberbatch agreeing to house refugees and Sean Penn meeting with Zelensky and publicly considering “taking up arms against Russia.”
