'They are the real warriors': Katheryn Winnick praises Ukrainians fighting to defend their motherland
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Katheryn Winnick wants people to remember that Ukraine is still fighting a war amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The ‘Vikings’ star who plays a warrior in the television drama and is also a professional martial arts trainer said that the real champions are the people of Ukraine.
“Yes, I may play a warrior on TV. But they’re the real warriors,” Winnick told The Hollywood Reporter at her fundraising event. She collaborated with UNITED24 and is their ambassador which also includes other actors Mark Strong, Liev Schreiber, and Mark Hamill, and her charity The Winnick Foundation.
Katheryn Winnick admires the fighting spirit of Ukrainians
Katheryn emphasized that her job is to bring out the voice of ordinary Ukrainians as they fight to defend their motherland. “Here are the doctors and lawyers and mothers and wives doing their part by sewing up armor or helping people on the front line or doing whatever they possibly can. They’re the real warriors, the people that are right there in Ukraine, not backing down and they will never back down,” she told the outlet over a Zoom call.
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The 21-year-old has visited Ukraine on several occasions in the past. Her last visit was to Irpin, a neighborhood near the capital Kyiv which witnessed massive destruction.
“Not only did I get a chance to go there firsthand and see the destroyed buildings and schools and apartments, it was amazing to see where the efforts are going: In the first year I was part of raising $19.5 million to rebuild 18 residential buildings,” she recalled.
Katheryn Winnick's appeal to people for help
Winnick said, “It’s heartbreaking to see how families have to relive this more than once and have to rebuild their lives, starting from scratch.”
“We can’t forget. We can’t stop helping. We need to do everything we possibly can, because freedom is on the line," she added.
“As much as there’s politics involved, I’m coming from a place of humanity and love and support and that’s where my interests have always laid, where freedom and life should not be eliminated because someone comes in and wants to take everything over," she continued.
