Amid an already surreal conflict, a surreal moment arises when Mark Hamill, known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars," uses his soothing and grave voice to urge people to take shelter during Russia’s airstrikes on Ukraine.
The intrusion of Hollywood science-fiction fantasy into the grim daily realities of war in Ukraine is a consequence of Hamill’s decision to lend his famous voice to "Air Alert," – a downloadable app linked to Ukraine’s air defense system. When air raid sirens start howling, the app warns Ukrainians that Russian missiles, bombs, and deadly exploding drones may be incoming.
"Don’t be careless," Hamill’s voice advises. "Your overconfidence is your weakness."
The actor says he’s admired – from afar, in California – how Ukraine has "shown such resilience ... under such terrible circumstances." Its fight against the Russian invasion, now in its second year, reminds him of the "Star Wars" saga, he says – of plucky rebels battling and ultimately defeating a vast, murderous empire. So voicing over the English-language version of the air-raid app and giving it his "Star Wars" touch was his way of helping out.
Bohdan Zvonyk, a 24-year-old app user who lives in the repeatedly struck western city of Lviv, says he chose Hamill’s voiceover rather than the Ukrainian setting because he is trying to improve his English. He’s a "Star Wars" fan, too.
"Besides," he said, "we could use a little bit of the power that Hamill wishes us."
Olena Yeremina, a 38-year-old business manager in the capital, Kyiv, said Hamill’s "May the Force be with you" signoff initially made her laugh. Now its enduring humor gives her strength.
"It’s a very cool phrase for this situation," she said. "I wouldn’t say that I feel like a Ukrainian Jedi, but sometimes this phrase reminds me to straighten my shoulders and keep working."
Sometimes it can be wise to shut Hamill off. Yeremina forgot to do that on a trip outside Ukraine – to Berlin – and paid for the error when the alarm started shrieking at 6 a.m. and again when she rode the subway in the German capital. She wasn’t alone. Another person in the subway car also had the app, which erupted. The two of them first cursed, but then "it made both me and that person smile," Yeremina recalled.
Ajax Systems, a Ukrainian security systems manufacturer that co-developed the app, hopes Hamill’s star power will encourage people outside Ukraine to download it. So they get a taste of the angst heaped on Ukrainians by nerve-shredding alarms and airborne death and destruction.
"With Mark’s approach, it won’t be so terrifying," said Valentine Hrytsenko, the chief marketing officer at Ajax. "But they will understand somehow the context."
In the invasion’s first year, air-raid alarms sounded more than 19,000 times across the country, so "of course, people are getting tired," he said. The app has been downloaded more than 14 million times. Hrytsenko is among those who use its English-language setting to hear Hamill’s voice.
"For Star Wars fans, it sounds really fantastic," he said. "It’s kind of a Ukrainian mentality to find some humor even in the bad situation or to try to be positive."
Hamill is pleased that the sci-fi saga is again transporting people, even temporarily, to its galaxy far away.
"It does inspire people," he said. "Everyone flashes back to being 6 years old again. And if the movie can help people through hard times, so much the better."