B次元官网网址淎ttention. Air raid alert,B次元官网网址� the voice says with a Jedi knightB次元官网网址檚 gravitas. B次元官网网址淧roceed to the nearest shelter.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 a surreal moment in : the grave but calming baritone of actor Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of B次元官网网址淪tar Wars,B次元官网网址� 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 HamillB次元官网网址檚 decision to lend his famous voice to B次元官网网址淎ir AlertB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a downloadable app linked to UkraineB次元官网网址檚 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.
B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 be careless,B次元官网网址� HamillB次元官网网址檚 voice advises. B次元官网网址淵our overconfidence is your weakness.B次元官网网址�
The actor says heB次元官网网址檚 admired B次元官网网址� from afar, in California B次元官网网址� how Ukraine has B次元官网网址渟hown such resilience B次元官网网址� under such terrible circumstances.B次元官网网址� Its fight against the Russian invasion, , reminds him of the B次元官网网址淪tar WarsB次元官网网址� saga, he says B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址淪tar WarsB次元官网网址� touch was his way of helping out.
B次元官网网址淎 fairy tale about good versus evil is resonant with whatB次元官网网址檚 going on in Ukraine,B次元官网网址� Hamill said in an interview with The Associated Press. B次元官网网址淭he Ukrainian people rallying to the cause and responding so heroically B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 impossible not to be inspired by how theyB次元官网网址檝e weathered this storm.B次元官网网址�
When the dangers from the skies pass, Hamill announces via the app that B次元官网网址渢he air alert is over.B次元官网网址� He then signs off with an uplifting: B次元官网网址淢ay the Force be with you.B次元官网网址�
Hamill is also to buy reconnaissance drones for Ukrainian forces on the front lines. He autographed B次元官网网址淪tar WarsB次元官网网址�-themed posters that are being raffled off.
B次元官网网址淗ere I sit in the comfort of my own home when in Ukraine there are power outages and food shortages and people are really suffering,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t motivates me to do as much as I can.B次元官网网址�
Although the app also has a Ukrainian-language setting, voiced by a woman, some Ukrainians prefer to have Hamill breaking the bad news that yet another Russian bombardment might be imminent.
On the worst days, sirens and the app sound every few hours, day and night. Some turn out to be false alarms. But many others are real B次元官网网址� and often deadly.
Bohdan Zvonyk, a 24-year-old app user who lives in the repeatedly struck western city of Lviv, says he chose HamillB次元官网网址檚 voiceover rather than the Ukrainian setting because he is trying to improve his English. HeB次元官网网址檚 a B次元官网网址淪tar WarsB次元官网网址� fan, too.
B次元官网网址淏esides,B次元官网网址� he said, B次元官网网址渨e could use a little bit of the power that Hamill wishes us.B次元官网网址�
After one alert, Zvonyk was riding a trolley bus when HamillB次元官网网址檚 voice rang out from his phone. He said the man in front B次元官网网址渢urned to me and said, smiling: B次元官网网址極h, those damn Sith,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� to describe Russian forces. The Sith are the malevolent enemies of the do-gooding Jedi.
Olena Yeremina, a 38-year-old business manager in the capital, Kyiv, said HamillB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淢ay the Force be with youB次元官网网址� signoff at first made her laugh. Now its enduring humor gives her strength.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a very cool phrase for this situation,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 wouldnB次元官网网址檛 say that I feel like a Ukrainian Jedi, but sometimes this phrase reminds me to straighten my shoulders and keep working.B次元官网网址�
Sometimes it can be wise to shut Hamill off. Yeremina forgot to do that on a trip outside Ukraine B次元官网网址� to Berlin B次元官网网址� and paid for the error when the alarm started shrieking at 6 a.m. and, again, when she rode the subway in the German capital. She wasnB次元官网网址檛 alone. Another person in the subway car also had the app and it erupted, too. The two of them first cursed, but then B次元官网网址渋t made both me and that person smile,B次元官网网址� Yeremina recalled.
Ajax Systems, a Ukrainian security systems manufacturer that co-developed the app, hopes HamillB次元官网网址檚 star power will encourage people outside Ukraine to download it B次元官网网址� so they get a taste of the angst heaped on Ukrainians by nerve-shredding alarms and airborne death and destruction.
B次元官网网址淲ith MarkB次元官网网址檚 approach, it wonB次元官网网址檛 be so terrifying,B次元官网网址� said Valentine Hrytsenko, the chief marketing officer at Ajax. B次元官网网址淏ut they will understand somehow the context.B次元官网网址�
In the invasionB次元官网网址檚 first year, air-raid alarms sounded more than 19,000 times across the country, so B次元官网网址渙f course people are getting tired,B次元官网网址� he said. The app has been downloaded more than 14 million times. Hrytsenko is among those who use its English-language setting to hear HamillB次元官网网址檚 voice.
B次元官网网址淔or Star Wars fans, it sounds really fantastic,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 kind of a Ukrainian mentality to find some humor even in the bad situation or to try to be positive.B次元官网网址�
Hamill is pleased that the sci-fi saga is again transporting people, even if just temporarily, to its galaxy far, far away.
B次元官网网址淚t does inspire people,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淓veryone flashes back to being 6 years old again. And if the movie can help people get through hard times, so much the better.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擩ohn Leicester, The Associated Press
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