Milla Jovovich is distraught and “heartbroken” over the events currently transpiring in her home country of Ukraine.
The model turned actress wrote an emotional note about the Russian invasion and her fear for her friends and family in a post on her Instagram account on Friday. She also provided her followers with access to a Google Doc filled with links to charities and other ways to help the people of Ukraine. “I am heartbroken and dumbstruck trying to process the events of this week in my birthplace of Ukraine,” Jovovich began her post. “My country and people being bombed. Friends and family in hiding. My blood and my roots come from both Russia and Ukraine.”
She continued, “I am torn in two as I watch the horror unfolding, the country being destroyed, families being displaced, their whole life lying in charred fragments around them. I remember the war in my father’s homeland of former Yugoslavia and the stories my family tells of the trauma and terror they experienced. War. Always war. Leaders who cannot bring peace. The never ending juggernaut of imperialism. And always, the people pay in bloodshed and tears.”
Jovovich’s message came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine and missile strikes on its capital, escalating a conflict that dates back to 2014. In response to the invasion, President Joe Biden announced “strong sanctions” on Russia during a speech from the White House on Thursday afternoon. “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” he said. “Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.”
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced to the press that, despite facing grave personal risk as “target No.1,” he has no plans to leave Kyiv. “They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state,” he said. He later posted a video on Telegraph with his top advisers and the prime minister all standing in front of Bankova, the Ukrainian presidential offices, telling citizens, “We are all here. Defending our independence. Our country. And so it will continue.”
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