Original Luke Skywalker actor joins Ukraine’s Army of Drones effort

Ukraine’s campaign to assemble an Army of Drones to push invading Russian forces out of the country staged a PR coup Thursday by welcoming its new ambassador Mark Hamill, the actor who played the consummate defender of good against evil Star Wars hero, Luke Skywalker.

Ukraine launched the Army of Drones campaign over the summer in a push to raise money for new UAV purchases, or receive donated craft for use in the country’s defense against Russia. Like much of the nation’s surprisingly effective and remarkably media-savvy efforts condemning Kremlin aggression, the recruitment of Hamill as ambassador for the Ukraine24 organization orchestrating the fundraising drive was immediately seized to highlight the stark good-versus-evil dynamic in the war.

“Mark, you have become the first ambassador to help Ukraine raise funds to support its defenders,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video linkup with Hamill welcoming him to the…