Mila Kunis opens up about Ukraine crisis, insists Russian people are not ‘an enemy’

Mila Kunis is speaking out about her Ukrainian ancestry and the heartbreaking Russian invasion of her homeland. The Bad Moms actress, 38, and husband Ashton Kutcher began a campaign to gather funds and help humanitarian activities in Ukraine, where Kunis was born, and in less than a week, they had raised USD 20 million of their USD 30 million target.

Even as Russian armies assault Ukraine, the 38-year-old actress confessed that she does not want people to think of Russians as the “enemy.” While she did not identify Russian President Vladimir Putin, she did blame those in authority for the situation. During Maria Shriver’s “Conversations Above the Noise” digital series, when Kunis was asked what she wants people to know, she said she wants everyone to know that she doesn’t want people to think that all Russians are “horrible” during the crisis. 

Mila said as per PEOPLE, “I don’t think that we need to consider the people of Russia an enemy. I do really want to emphasize that. I don’t think that that’s being said enough in the press,” she said. However, Mila also discussed her Ukrainian roots and how, having grown up in the United States, she tended to feel more “American” than Ukrainian before the crisis, while having some friends and relatives remaining in Ukraine. She said that she was taken aback by how devastated she felt after the attacks. She further said, “This happens and I can’t express or explain what came over me, but all of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh my God, I feel like a part of my heart just got ripped out.”

Meanwhile, the invasion, authorised by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has elicited widespread outrage and increased economic sanctions on Russia.

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