Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher vow to match $3 million in donations to help Ukrainian refugees
Ukrainian-born actress Mila Kunis and her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, have vowed to match up to $3 million of donations in a $30 million effort to help families in Ukraine impacted by the Russian invasion. The couple announced their endeavor on Instagram on Thursday, saying there is "no place in this world for this kind of unjust attack on humanity."
"I'm a proud American. I love everything this country has done for myself and my family," Kunis said in the video alongside Kutcher. "But today, I have never been more proud to be a Ukrainian."
Kunis, known for a range of popular films and "That '70s Show," was born in Ukraine in 1983. She moved to the U.S. in 1991 from Chernivtsi, a city in the southwest portion of the country. Hundreds of people have been killed throughout Ukraine since Russia invaded just over a week ago, and tensions have only escalated.
"The events that have unfolded in Ukraine are devastating," Kunis said. "There is no place in this world for this kind of unjust attack on humanity."
The couple said that the money they are seeking to raise will go to relief that will have "an immediate impact in supplying much-needed refugee and humanitarian aid to the area." Donations raised through the GoFundMe page they set up will go to Airbnb.org and Flexport.org, which are providing free, short-term housing and organizing supply shipments to refugee sites, respectively.
The couple vowed to match up to $3 million of the donations accrued. Within 17 hours of the GoFundMe page being available, the couple raised nearly $3.2 million.
"The people of Ukraine are strong and brave," Kunis said. "But being strong and brave doesn't mean you're not worthy of support."
The U.N. says one million refugees, including 500,000 children, have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries. Roughly one million more people are displaced in Ukraine, trying to seek shelter from the destruction.
