Ukraine President Zelensky Praises Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher For $35M Aid For Refugees – Update

UPDATE, 7:30 AM: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Mila Kunis and her husband, Ashton Kutcher for their efforts to raise over $35 million for humanitarian aid for refugees in the war-torn region.

Zelensky personally reached out to the couple via video call, and tweeted a picture of himself talking to the couple thanking them for their support with the caption: “Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were among the first to respond to our grief,” adding “Grateful for their support. Impressed by their determination. They inspire the world. #StandWithUkraine”

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The couple announced last week that they had reached their $30 million goal to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine.

UPDATE, March 18: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have reached their $30 million Go Fund Me goal to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the couple announced on their Instagram page. “We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the support,” they wrote in a message accompanying the announcement. While this is far from a solution for the problem, our collective effort will provide a softer landing for so many people as they forge ahead into their future of uncertainty.”

In the video accompanying the announcement – watch it below – Kutcher pledges that their “work is not done.”

“We will do everything we can to ensure the outpouring of love that came from you all as a part of this campaign finds a maximum impact for those in need.” He said the couple will oversee the spending of the money as if every dollar was “being donated from our pocket, with respect and honor for the work that went into earning it, the intent of love through which it was given, and the desire for it to be maximized for positive outcomes for others.”

PREVIOUS, March 4 Mila Kunis hasn’t forgotten where she came from. The actress and husband Ashton Kutcher have launched a fundraiser on the GoFundMe site to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In just one day, the fundraiser has accumulated pledges of $9.3 million.

Kutcher and Kunis, the latter a native Ukrainian who came to the US with her parents as a small child, are using the GoFundMe fundraiser in hopes of raising $30 Million, with a $3 Million match by the couple, to benefit Flexport.org and Airbnb.org.

“Today, I am a proud Ukrainian,” Kunis wrote on the fundraising page. “While my family came to the United States in 1991, I was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine in 1983. Ukrainians are proud and brave people who deserve our help in their time of need. This unjust attack on Ukraine and humanity at large is devastating and the Ukrainian people need our support.”

GoFundMe.org recently stirred up some controversy by withholding contributions to the Canadian truckers in the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in Canada, resulting in investigations by several state attorney generals.

But the organization claims this particular fundraiser will provide an immediate impact on refugee and humanitarian aid efforts, including for transporting humanitarian aid to known NGO’s on the ground, and providing free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine.

In a video on the GoFundMe Kunis and Kutcher explained why this situation is personally important and how people can join them in helping.

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