Explained: Mila Kunis is Russian or Ukrainian? as actress speaks about the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 min read
Actress Mila Kunis talks about the Russian invasion of her homeland and her family’s Ukrainian heritage. As part of a campaign to raise funds and support humanitarian activities in Ukraine, where Kunis was born, Ashton Kutcher and Kunis raised USD 20 million out of their USD 30 million goals in less than a week.
The 38-year-old actress has confessed that she does not like Russians to be viewed as the enemy, despite the fact that the country is under attack by the Russian army. While she did not name Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, she blamed the authorities for the situation. When Kunis was interviewed as part of Maria Shriver’s “Conversations Above the Noise” digital series, she said she does not wish to give people the impression that all Russians are “horrible” during the crisis.
What is the ethnicity of Mila Kunis?
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She was born in Chernivtsi, an area of the Soviet Union in modern-day Ukraine, which was formerly part of the Ukrainian SSR in the 1940s. At the age of seven, she moved to Los Angeles with her family.
Kunis told Shriver that she had previously not fully accepted her Ukrainian heritage. For Kunis, it did not matter that she comes from Ukraine. “It never mattered.”
Originally from Ukraine, the actress has often introduced herself as a Russian to avoid answering the question: “Where is Ukraine?” However, she has recently embraced her roots and publicly stated her support for the country she hails from.
How does Mila Kunis feel about the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia?
The interview with Shriver also revealed her attitude towards Russian citizens. As the actress put it, if you aren’t with us, you are against us. “And I don’t want people to conflate the two problems that are happening.”
Mila Kunis suggested that the conflict should not make people the “enemy” or “horrible human beings”. “People in power,” i.e. the administration, are the source of aggression, not the citizens of the country.
Mila Kunis described the recent developments as devastating, and she felt like “a piece of my heart got torn from me.” Last week, she and Ashton Kutcher took to Instagram to launch a GoFundMe fundraising project to support Ukrainian refugees in neighboring countries.
Up to $3 million of their $30 million goal will be matched by the couple. Kutcher and Kunis have raised over $2,600,000 with their GoFundMe as of Thursday afternoon.”Ukrainians are proud and brave people who deserve our help in their time of need.” she said.
Ankita Khanrah
Ankita Khanrah is a second-year student of the Master of Communication and Journalism (Integrated) programme at the School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed University, Bhubaneswar.
