There's a 'Star Wars' twist to a Ukrainian air-raid app

Anonymous

Actor Mark Hamill is best known for portraying Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” movies. His politics are liberal and he was as Trump-deranged as they come in Hollywood. But, sometimes he gets it right. For example, he is doing whatever he can to support Ukraine in its fight against Putin’s invasion. First, he signed on as Ambassador for the Army of Drones. Then he helped raise a lot of money for the purchase of hundreds of drones for Ukraine. His latest effort is as the voice of an app that alerts Ukrainians to incoming Russian air raids.

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The voice of Luke Skywalker begins after the air raid siren blasts from the app. “Attention. Air raid alert. Proceed to the nearest shelter.”

It’s a surreal moment in an already surreal war: the grave but calming baritone of actor Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars,” urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine.

The intrusion of Hollywood science-fiction fantasy into the grim daily realities of war in Ukraine is a consequence of Hamill’s decision to lend his famous voice to “Air Alert” — 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.

“Don’t be careless,” Hamill’s voice advises. “Your overconfidence is your weakness.”

When the threat has passed or the attack is over, he signals the all-clear.

When the dangers from the skies pass, Hamill announces via the app that “the air alert is over.” He then signs off with an uplifting: “May the Force be with you.”

The app is widely popular in Ukraine.

He also recently partnered with the Ukrainian government to raise money for a campaign to buy reconnaissance drones by signing “Star Wars” posters.

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Credit where credit is due.

The United24 is a crowdfunding campaign launched by Zelensky. The website includes images of Hamill.

The United24 campaign has so far raised more than $300 million, enough funds to purchase 1,4000 drones, according to its website.

The webpage includes images of Hamill from the “Star Wars” films, as well as a video that has the actor telling potential donors, “In reality, things are not like the movies — there are no superheroes wearing capes, Jedi knights, time machines or magic wands. Instead there are millions of people standing up to real evil and they all need real support.”

Lending his voice to the app was a way he could help support Ukraine, Hamill said.

The actor says he’s admired — from afar, in California — how Ukraine has “shown such resilience … under such terrible circumstances.” Its fight against the Russian invasion, now in its second year, reminds him of the “Star Wars” saga, he says — of plucky rebels battling and ultimately defeating a vast, murderous empire. Voicing over the English-language version of the air-raid app and giving it his “Star Wars” touch was his way of helping out.

“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.”

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The app also has a Ukrainian-language setting that features a woman’s voice.

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