Zelensky meets with actor Collins, who becomes United24 ambassador

That's according to the press service of the President, Ukrinform reports.

Zelensky met in Kyiv with Collins, who became a United24 ambassador in the area of humanitarian demining.

President Zelensky thanked the actor for joining the team of ambassadors. He emphasized that assisting Ukraine with purchasing demining machines is a big and difficult task because this equipment is scarce in the world, and its production cycle is long.

"When we liberate our territories from the occupiers, we face many problems due to mined areas. Today we have more than 200 thousand square kilometers of mined areas. And we are experiencing a great shortage of equipment to cope with such a large territory," Zelensky said.

For his part, Collins said that his friend, British journalist and photographer Giles Duley, once stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan and lost both legs and an arm. So for him, helping with humanitarian demining is a personal issue.

Duley, who also attended the meeting, added that his Legacy of War Foundation also raises funds for demining and has already become an official partner of the United24 platform in the UK.

According to Collins, demining the territories where the fighting took place takes a lot of time, and sometimes it can last for decades.

"Even if the war in Ukraine ends tomorrow, the legacy of the war will remain until the entire land is cleared of mines. Mine clearance is extremely important. Because children and families who go to the forest to pick mushrooms often suffer from explosive devices," he said.

Collins also emphasized that he was extremely inspired to participate in the United24 project.

"I feel that my role as an Ambassador is to spread the word and tell the story of what is happening in Ukraine to my audience around the world and to draw attention so that the world's support for Ukraine continues," the actor emphasized.

In addition to meeting with Zelensky, Collins will visit Chernihiv region to see the work of Ukrainian sappers.

As reported, Misha Collins comes from a family originally from the Kyiv region. The actor studied Ukrainian politics and history in college and has traveled to Ukraine many times. He has been actively supporting Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. On the war anniversary, he recorded a video message for United24 in Ukrainian.

As Ukrinform reported, about 174 thousand square kilometers in Ukraine are considered potentially contaminated with explosive ordnance due to Russian aggression.