Star Wars Fans can appreciate this! Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker of Star Wars fame, is now the voice helping out in Ukraine urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine. Hamill has voiced "Air Alert" ā a downloadable app linked to Ukraine's air defense system. When air raid sirens start howling, the app also warns Ukrainians that Russian missiles, bombs and deadly exploding drones may be incoming.
Ā "Attention. Air raid alert," the voice says "Proceed to the nearest shelter."
"Don't be careless," Hamill's voice also advises. "Your overconfidence is your weakness."
When it has passed, Hamill announces via the app that "the air alert is over." He then signs off with an uplifting: "May the Force be with you."
"A fairy tale about good versus evil is resonant with what's going on in Ukraine," Hamill said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The Ukrainian people rallying to the cause and responding so heroically ... It's impossible not to be inspired by how they've weathered this storm."
Hamill is also raising funds to buy reconnaissance drones for Ukrainian forces on the front lines. He autographed "Star Wars"-themed posters that are being raffled off.
In the invasion's first year, air-raid alarms sounded more than 19,000 times across the country, so "of course people are getting tired," he said. The app has been downloaded more than 14 million times.