Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a meeting with the President of the Republic of Latvia Egils Levits, and the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Kyiv, Ukraine, 9 September 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Sergey Dolzhenko) “Very simply: Ukraine needs drones. They define war outcomes, they protect their land, their people, they monitor the border, they’re eyes in the sky,” Hamill said in an interview with Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg Radio’s Sound On. “I was really shocked because they give me these updates at least two or three times a week about what’s going on and they said they’ve received over 500 drones since I started this.”
After a Zoom call with Zelensky, Hamill began working with United24, the official fundraising arm of the Ukrainian government, to equip the country’s military with drones. Celebrities including Liev Schreiber and Barbra Streisand have also supported United24 by helping raise funds for initiatives focused on medical aid.
Earlier this month, Hamill tweeted an image of a lone X-Wing fighter, the model flown by his Skywalker character, in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag facing off against a fleet of Star Destroyers flown by the evil empire.
Meanwhile, the US, France and the UK have called for a special United Nations Security Council briefing regarding evidence that Russia has procured Iranian drones for its war on Ukraine.
The US Mission to the UN said in a statement on Wednesday that the so-called expert briefing would look into Russian procurement of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles “in open violation” of a Security Council resolution.
“There is ample evidence that Russia is using Iranian-made UAVs in cruel and deliberate attacks against the people of Ukraine, including against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure.”
Drones have been deployed in recent Russian attacks on power plants and other installations across Ukraine. About 30% of the country’s power stations have been destroyed since 10 October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly denied that any of the country’s weapons have been exported for use in Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials have on several occasions identified what they say are Iranian-manufactured Shahed suicide drones.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei boasted of the reputation of military drones produced in his country,
“When images of Iranian drones were published a few years ago, they would say they’re photo-shopped. Now they say Iranian drones are dangerous, why do you sell them or give them to so-and-so?” according to a report in the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
His reported comments came after a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg that the European Union proposed sanctioning three Iranian generals and one entity for providing drones and other military support to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. BM/DM