Mark Hamill, who starred as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga, is raising money to donate military equipment to Ukraine.
The actor announced he would host a raffle and auction for a limited quantity of signed Star Wars posters to raise funds for drones, the Evening Standard reported. The fundraising is in partnership with UNITED24, an initiative launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last year to collect charitable donations for the Ukrainian war effort.
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In a Friday morning appearance on Good Morning Britain, Hamill said that Zelensky personally reached out to him about joining the UNITED24 project last year.
“He asked me to be an ambassador to what he called ‘the Army of Drones,'” Hamill said. “The president said that they were crucial in that they are their eyes in the sky and they can transmit video in real-time without the operator being detected.”
The raffle and auction, which opened Feb. 17 and will close March 24, is aiming to raise enough to purchase 10 RQ-35 Heidrun reconnaissance drones, which cost about $150,000 each.
This is the first time Hamill has signed Star Wars memorabilia since 2017, making the fundraiser an exclusive opportunity. Hamill told Good Morning Britain that so far, the UNITED24 auction has raised enough money for four drones. (RELATED: Star Wars Actor Mark Hamill Says Trump Is Worse Than Darth Vader)
Hamill has autographed 10 posters, the first five of which will be raffled off to anyone who donates $100 or more. The other five posters will be guaranteed to anyone who donates $10,000 or more, the actor announced on Instagram. The posters feature the infamous X-wing Fighter from the Star Wars franchise. The X-wing is portrayed in the Ukrainian flag’s blue and yellow colors facing a Russian imperial fleet.
“The X-Wing is Ukraine against this massive armada of a fully weaponized death machine,” Hamill told Good Morning Britain. “It’s extraordinary, the David and Goliath aspect of this has been astonishing. Everyone said they were expected to be overrun in four days … and you see this heroic response.”
“The resolve and the resolute spirit of the Ukrainian people has been just inspirational. And the president himself, who would have guessed that he could have risen to the occasion as he has,” Hamill added.