"I'm so proud to be from Ukraine": Mila Kunis tells why she started fundraising for Ukrainians

She told about this in an interview with People.

Hollywood star Mila Kunis and her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched a charity Stand With Ukraine fundraiser on the GoFundMe platform in favor of Flexport and Airbnb. Due to this money, Flexport organized free delivery of humanitarian aid to refugee locations in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Moldova. Airbnb provided free short-term housing to refugees from Ukraine.

To date, the star couple has raised more than USD 37 million and the mission continues.

“We can't become desensitized. Helping — not even asking, just doing — should be our standard norm,” Mila Kunis, who donated USD 3 million, said.

When asked how they managed to mobilize funds for Stand With Ukraine so quickly, the actress answered that they did not have time to think.

“Because I'm from Ukraine, I started getting calls from people who [wanted to help and] thought I knew the politics or had an understanding of NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] on the ground. That was my realization: If they don't know who to go to, how will anybody? There were problems we knew we could help solve. So Ashton and I said, "Okay, let's do this." Within 24 hours, we had GoFundMe on board,” she said. 

According to Kunis, her children - 8-year-old Wyatt and 6-year-old Dimitri - know about the war.

“So we give them enough to understand what's happening in the world without the details. Do they know that these two countries are at war? Yes. Do they know innocent people are dying? Yes. But we don't watch the news with them. They don't need the visuals. We just want them to understand the world is bigger than they are,” Kunis said. 

In addition, Kunis and Kutcher's children eat Ukrainian dishes prepared by the Hollywood actress' mother, who is from Chernivtsi.

“My parents and I speak Russian to each other, so they've grown up with that. They've naturally found pride in being half Ukrainian. The truth is I'm very American. I was raised in Los Angeles. That said, I've never been more proud to be from Ukraine. I'm so honored my kids can carry on that heritage. When you're little, all you want to do is assimilate. As horrible as so many things are in the world today, the "You're different, and that's a cool thing" sense of identity is new. I'm grateful for that,” Mila Kunis added. 

• Mila Kunis and her husband Ashton Kutcher have been actively supporting Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion. 

• On March 4, the couple announced a fundraiser to help Ukrainian refugees.  In a short period of time, the stars raised USD 35 million. The couple transferred the funds to the Flexport.org charity fund and the Airbnb.org housing rental service.

• Mila Kunis was born in Chernivtsi. At the age of 8, she emigrated to the US with her parents.

• Mila Kunis said that her daughter is proud of her Ukrainian origin.