Lee Young-Ae, Hiroshi Mikitani and other celebrities donating millions to Ukraine relief

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, several celebrities, athletes, royals, and companies are sending their money directly to the cause. Actress Lee Young-Ae has joined the effort helping the people of Ukraine. According to a post on social media made by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea on Tuesday, Young-Ae donated 100 million won ($83,470) to Ukraine.

The tweet by Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko read, "We are very excited and touched by the letter and the great financial contribution of the famous Korean actress Lee Young-Ae in support of Ukraine and the demand to end the war as soon as possible!"

Photo: Twitter @DP_UA1972

He included a photo of the check and a letter written by Young-Ae. The letter states, "As a family of veterans who have experienced war, I sympathize with the horrors of the current situation more than anyone else."  The donations will be used to serve the needs of Ukrainian victims of Russia's invasion.

The Japanese billionaire has announced he will be donating one billion yen (about €7.7 million) to aide the Ukrainian government, The Brussels Times reports.

Mikitani is the founder and CEO of giant enterprise, Rakuten which specialises in e-trade and other online services. The business mogul wrote a letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressing his desire that the funds would go towards ‘humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who have become victims of the violence’.

Hollywood’s golden couple are at it again. Using their influence, fame and cash to help out those in need. There has been a call not only by the Ukraine government, but also by the countless people on social media, to send aide to the struggling country as they are invaded by Russia.

Ryan Reynolds and Black Lively confirmed on Twitter they would match gifts donated to those displaced. According to the USA for UNHCR, Nearly three million people in Ukraine will require humanitarian assistance this year. Those fleeing for their lives need immediate shelter, protection and safety.

He tweeted: “In 48 hours, countless Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes to neighboring countries. They need protection. When you donate, we’ll match it up to $1,000,000, creating double the support.”

This Tweet was in a direct response to the USA for UNHCR Twitter post that stated: “ Right now, the crisis in Ukraine is forcing families to flee their homes. Please make a donation today to send lifesaving aid to displaced Ukrainians, and @VancityReynolds & @blakelively will match your gift $1-for-$1 up to $1,000,000.” @UNRefugeeAgency

Photo: Getty Images/Twitter @UNRefugeeAgency

Wonderfully so, this appeal launched a surge of donations and if you go to the website to donate with the proceeds matched by Blake and Ryan, you will see the following message, “Because of an outpouring of compassion, we have reached the match limit, but we hope you will still join Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in making an emergency gift to help Ukrainian families.”

The couple, who have always maintained a flawless - yet humorous(!) - presence in the public eye are no strangers to doing all they can to help. To try and overcome the struggles of the pandemic, they donated $1 million to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada.

Spanish chef, Jose Andres, has made his stance on Ukraine quite clear with a video on Instagram that stated he was "distraught watching Ukraine under attack.” Andres is the founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organisation that delivers food relief to areas that need it most.

“We must come together as a force for good! @WCKitchen is on the Ukraine-Poland border delivering meals tonight—Romania soon,” the Instagram caption read. He went on to say he would be joining the fight with his personal triumphs: “In addition to your donations…I am committing support from the Bezos award to Ukraine.”

Photo: Instagram @chefjoseandres

During the video, Andres explains that he would be taking $5 million out of the Bezos award he won for his humanitarian efforts and he is committing it to helping out the people in Ukraine. The Bezos award had a prize fund of $100 million - of which he has put towards expanding his non-profit and helping those affected by natural disasters of facing humanitarian crisis.

Photo: Instagram @chefjoseandres

American television personality, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author who is best known for starring in the Bravo television series 'The Real Housewives of New York City,' is certainly pulling out all the stops. Her Bstrong initiative has taken off and is now donating $16 million to relief efforts.

Speaking directly with ‘TMZ Live’, she explained more about the initiative and her partnership with Global Empowerment Mission, pledging ‘$10 mil in food, medical aid and other supplies,’ according to the publication.

Photo: TMZ Live

Bethenny states her campaign is such a success due to the strong organisational skills she has learned by putting on big productions and her training in relief efforts. Frankel’s main aim is to concentrate on those still left behind - helping them travel to the border and provide them with water and hygiene products.

"Our newest issues are hunger & medical aid IN Ukraine," Frankel tweeted. "Now we're working on logistics back into the country. Everyone is talking about the exodus but keep in mind the millions who stayed.”

Photo: Getty Images/Twitter @Bethenny

The Daily Mail have reported that the duchess has given a ‘substantial’ donation to the Mail’s refugee appeal, after an ‘emotional meeting with British-based Ukrainians.

The appeal is the fastest newspaper fundraiser of all time, according to the publication and the Duchess has made a private contribution to the cause. The total currently raised is in excess of £2.5million after four days of the appeal going live.

The Mail quotes Camilla’s spokesman as saying: 'No one could fail to be moved by the appalling scenes of Ukrainians fleeing their homes and the duchess wanted to help in whatever way she could.'

The reality TV star has spoken out about her efforts to support the cause. On-the-ground efforts will receive the donation, via Andres’ World Central Kitchen.

Her brand, SKIMS will be taking the lead. The Instagram story read, “In light of the recent crisis in Ukraine, SKIMS will be making a donation to World Central Kitchen in an effort to support their on-the-ground efforts to aid the Ukrainian people. Join us in donating”.

The world number 15 in tennis will be donating her prize money from WTA tournaments to support the ongoing crisis in her home country, Ukraine. Not only has she pledges to donate the money to humanitarian efforts, but also to Ukraine’s military.

Svitolina told Eurosport that her family and friends in Ukraine were defending the country and she wanted to help. "The most painful thing I would say is I feel completely useless because I want to help them. I want to do something for them.”

The tennis star continued, “Some of my friends are without electricity, without water, without food. They're really struggling… So I decided the prize money from my upcoming tournaments here in Mexico and in the States will go to the Ukrainian Army and to humanitarian needs.”

The Russian is selling the renowned football club, Chelsea and he has stated he will donate the ‘net proceeds’ from his sale to a charitable foundation supporting Ukraine’s war victims.

The Russian-Israeli billionaire said in a statement, "I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” according to the Daily Mail. "This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.”

According to Yahoo!Sports, the NASCAR owner is donating ‘1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine’. He is currently a member of Ammo, Inc.’s board of directors and the donation came after hearing Zelensky ask for ammunition.

Childress made an appearance on Fox News, explaining the call to the chairman of the organisation, “I said, ‘Fred, we got to help these people. They need ammunition… He stepped right up … Now we’re turning our production to this as our No. 1 priority.”

Although still unsure as to how they will get the ammunition there, he said efforts have to be made, "To see the people in Ukraine fighting, it's terrible to see the lives that are being lost over there… We have to do all we can, and I felt with Ammo Inc. and myself, we were doing the right thing. We’re going to get the ammunition to them as quick as we can.”

The Google employees themselves have stepped up, contributing more than $15 million in donations to aid relief efforts in Ukraine. $5 million has come from the company’s employee matching campaign.

The huge enterprise is also offering credits for organisations working on aid efforts, including humanitarian and intergovernmental organisations. They are also working to track Russia-backed hacking.

Bolt, a transport startup in Estonia will donate €5 million to charities supporting Ukraine, according the Bolt blog. They will shut operations in Belarus and remove Russian products from its grocery delivery service. "Freedom is worth more," the founder said.

The company donated their first million on March 1st and the founder explained their reasons behind the decision, ”Coming from Estonia we know the value of freedom all too well. Our parents and grandparents were waiting for the occupation to end for 48 long years. Europe cannot make the same mistake again," he said, according to ERR news.

According to the Times, Boris Johnson has announced a new charity to help Ukraine. 15 leading British charities will help to distribute the funds and the government have pledged to match the donations up to £20m