The Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has said Ukraine needs more drones to fight off the Russian invasion and compared Moscow to the dark side of the force in the film series.
Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the films, was made an ambassador to the United24 project – which Ukraine set up to elicit donations, including the donation of drones to the Ukrainian army – by the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Hamill told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that he had discussed parallels with the cult films and the current war in Ukraine with Zelenskiy.
“[Zelenskiy] did reference the movies, and it’s not hard to understand why,” Hamill said. “I mean, Star Wars was always a fairytale for children and fairytales are morality tales of good versus evil, where good is clearly defined, evil is clearly defined, and it’s not hard to extrapolate an evil empire with Russia invading a sovereign nation.”
Asked whether the platform would be used to supply lethal technology, he answered: “Ukraine needs drones. They have some drones, but not nearly as many as the Russians.”
Hamill also paid tribute to Zelenskiy, saying: “I was really fascinated with this man … because he’s been absolutely heroic. And the Ukrainian people have been inspirational. He’s an amazing man.”
Hamill said participating in the project was “a chance to use [the popularity of the films] for good, and I feel a great responsibility to try and do everything I can to further the Ukrainian cause.”
