Mila Kunis Opens Up About Ukrainian Heritage Amid Unrest: ‘Like a Part of My Heart Just Got Ripped Out’

usmagazine.com:

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mila Kunis is reflecting on her heritage.“I was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and I came to the [United] States in 1991 with my family and we were the last of my family to migrate,” the That 70s Show alum, 38, told Maria Shriver during a Friday, March 11, clip from Shriver Media’s The Sunday Paper newsletter. “When we came to the States, I was 7-and-a-half [or] 8 [and] I very much have always felt like an American.”She told the 66-year-old philanthropist: “People were like, ‘Oh, you’re so Eastern European.’ I was like, ‘I’m so L.A.!

What do you mean?’”As Russian troops began invading cities in Ukraine late last month, Kunis noticed a shift in her mindset.“And then, this happens — and we have friends in Ukraine, Ashton [Kutcher, her husband] and I went and met [President] Zelenskyy three and half years [ago] — this happens and I can’t express or explain what came over me,” the Bad Moms star told Shriver. “But all of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I feel like a part of my heart just got ripped out.’ It was the weirdest feeling.”Amid the ongoing conflict, Kunis has made a point to share her Ukrainian pride with her children. (The actress and Kutcher, 44, share daughter Wyatt, 7, and son Dimitri, 5.)“I turned to my kids and I was like, ‘You are half Ukrainian, half American!’ Like, I literally was like, ‘Look, you!’ And my kids were like, ‘Yeah mom, I get it.’ And I was like, ‘No!

You are Ukrainian and American.’ I was like, ‘You are half Iowa, half Ukraine.’ And they’re like, ‘OK, I get it,’” she told the And One More Thing Before You Go author in Friday’s clip.The Family Guy voice actress continued: “It’s been irrelevant to me that I come from Ukraine.