Anish Vij
Mila Kunis, who was born in Ukraine, has revealed why she used to tell people she was from Russia.
The That 70's Show actor was born in Ukrainian city Chernivtsi and moved to US in 1991 when she was eight years old.
In an exclusive interview with Maria Shriver, Kunis explained to the host that she's 'always felt like an American'.
Kunis said: “People were like, ‘Oh, you’re so Eastern European.’
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"I was like, ‘I’m so LA! What do you mean?’
"Like, my whole life I was like, ‘I am LA through and through.’"
Because the 38-year-old felt so much like an American, she believed that being Ukrainian was 'irrelevant', despite still having friends in Ukraine and visiting the country often.
She gave 'a multitude of reasons' as to why she would identify as 'Russian' rather than 'Ukrainian'.
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Kunis added: “One of them being when I came to the States and I would tell people I’m from Ukraine, the first question I’d get was, ‘Where is Ukraine?’
“And then I’d have to explain Ukraine and where it is on the map, and I was like ‘Ugh, that’s exhausting.’”
She went on to say: “But if I was like, ‘I’m from Russia,’ people were like, ‘Oh, we know that country.’
"So I was like, great, I’ll just tell people from Russia.”
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However, due to recent events over the past few weeks with Vladimir Putin's invasion of the country, Kunis now has a different outlook.
“This happens and I can’t express or explain what came over me, but all of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh my God, I feel like a part of my heart just got ripped out,’” she said. “It was the weirdest feeling.”
She now tells people she's from Ukraine, adding: “Hell no, I’m from Ukraine!”
Kunis and her husband Ashton Kutcher have since raised more than $20 million in donations for the people of Ukraine in less than a week.
Kutcher posted a video via his Instagram account sharing the news they were just $10 million shy of their goal.
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He said: "Our goal's $30 million and we're gonna get there."
The former Two and a Half Men star explained that donations would be going towards Flexport to deliver ‘humanitarian aid’ to non-governmental organisations helping to fund housing for Ukrainians.
Donations would also be directed to Airbnb, which 'is already taking in refugees'.
Kunis added: "But we do want to say thank you to the 56,000 of you who were able to donate and supported us. Whether it was the $5, $10, $1,000, whatever it was, means so much to us because it does bring in a community and a sense of belonging and an ability to help."
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.