The drive aims to raise over PLN 8 million (EUR 1.7 million) for three Ми-2АМ-1 medical evacuation helicopters to carry injured Ukrainian soldiers from the battlefield to safety, the onet.pl website has reported.
Linda, an actor most famous for his role in the Polish crime action series Pigs, has called on his compatriots to give generously to the cause.
He said: “I would like to invite everyone to participate in the Helicopters for Ukraine fundraiser. Do join us. What’s important is that these are not combat helicopters. These are evacuation helicopters, in other words they rescue the injured and the ill. It’s a totally human, peaceful, humanitarian mission.”
Linda added: “The borders, the freedom of a neighbouring country have been violated. It has been done in a criminal way and it’s unacceptable.”
He also said that he had been surprised and impressed by the "unshakeable fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people," onet.pl reported.
He added: “I’m one of many who have been impressed by the determination of the Ukrainian people. By how much they love their freedom, by how they refuse to surrender, by how they are fighting and dying for their country. For this they deserve great respect.”
Linda has joined the likes of Nobel Prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk and fellow actor Robert Więckiewicz among the public faces for the Helicopters for Ukraine crowdfunding drive, news outlets reported.
More information about the initiative can be found here and here.
In July, more than 200,000 Poles chipped in to crowdfund a Bayraktar TB2 combat drone for the Ukrainian army.
The weapon’s maker, the Turkish defence company Baykar, was impressed with the fundraising effort and eventually decided to donate the PLN 22.5 million (EUR 4.8 million) drone to Kyiv for free, according to reports at the time.
Meanwhile, Polish, Ukrainian and Turkish authorities agreed to allocate the collected funds for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, news outlets reported.
Tuesday is day 307 of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: onet.pl, polityka.se.pl
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.