Mila Kunis expresses love for her Ukrainian heritage amid Russian military operation

Mila Kunis. Pic/AFP

Hollywood star Mila Kunis recently opened up about her newfound love for her Ukrainian heritage during an interview.

According to USA Today, while speaking to Maria Shriver as part of her interview series 'Conversations Above the Noise', Kunis said she "always felt like an American," despite being born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and immigrating to the U.S. with her family around age 8.

"People were like, 'Oh, you're so Eastern European.' I was like, 'I'm so LA, what do you mean?' Like, my whole life I was like, 'I am LA through and through,'" Kunis said while reflecting on her peers' perception of her growing up.

She went on to say that her Ukrainian roots were so "irrelevant to me" when she was younger that she would tell people she was Russian.

"I've always been like, 'I'm from Russia' for a multitude of reasons. One of them being when I came to the States and I would tell people I'm from Ukraine, the first question I would get is, 'Where is Ukraine?'" Kunis said.

She added, "And then I'd have to explain Ukraine and where it is on the map, and I was like, 'Ugh, that's exhausting.' 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 I'm from Russia.'"

However, Kunis told Shriver that Russia's recent military operation of Ukraine was a jarring revelation for her.

"I can't express or explain what came over me, but all of a sudden I genuinely was like, 'Oh my God, I feel like a part of my heart just got ripped out'. It was the weirdest feeling," Kunis said of witnessing the military operation.

As per USA Today, Kunis further said she now has a renewed sense of pride for her Ukrainian heritage, which is something she wants to pass on to her own children: daughter Wyatt and son Dimitri.

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