“So Ashton and I have decided to match up to $3 million worth of donations … in an effort to raise $30 million.”
Kunis, who was born in Chernivtsi in southwestern Ukraine in 1983, moved to the United States in 1991, she said.
“I have always considered myself an American, a proud American. … But today, I have never been more proud to be a Ukrainian,” Kunis said in the video, sitting next to Kutcher.
“And I’ve never been more proud to be married to a Ukrainian,” Kutcher added. The two actors married in 2015.
“The principle challenge right now is logistics. We need to get housing, and we need to get supplies and resources into the area,” he said.
The Hollywood couple have so far raised almost $15 million of their $30 million target as of Saturday, according to their GoFundMe page.
“I have worked in refugee emergencies for almost 40 years, and rarely have I seen an exodus as rapid as this one,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Thursday, denouncing the “senseless war.”
More than half of Ukraine’s refugees have fled to Poland, and others to neighboring countries such as Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia, according to U.N. data.
“International solidarity has been heartwarming,” Grandi added. “But nothing — nothing — can replace the need for the guns to be silenced; for dialogue and diplomacy to succeed.”
The funds raised by the couple will be donated through Flexport.org, which is organizing shipments of logistics and supplies to refugee sites in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova, and through Airbnb.org, which is providing free, short-term housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Airbnb, the online market for homestays and vacation rentals, announced that it would suspend all of its operations in Russia and Belarus, its co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky tweeted Thursday. Earlier this week, Chesky also said on Twitter that “people are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine they don’t intend to stay in just to help Hosts.”
The U.S.-based company is working with hosts to “house up to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine, for free,” he added.
“The people of Ukraine are strong and brave,” Kunis said in the video. “We need to support the people of Ukraine. Please help us.”
Actress Reese Witherspoon commented on Kutcher’s post that she was “Donating now!” She shared an emoji of the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag.
Other celebrity couples have also pledged funds during the crisis, including actors Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively, who said they would match $1 million of donations to help refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria have also urged the public to donate to support children caught in the conflict.