Leonardo DiCaprio Has Donated to Support Humanitarian Causes in Ukraine

As a longtime ambassador for peace for the U.N., it makes sense that Leonardo DiCaprio would take interest in the plight facing the more than 1 million refugees that have left Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Vanity Fair can confirm that DiCaprio has donated to the CARE Foundation, International Rescue Committee, U.N. High Commission on Refugees and Save the Children to support humanitarian aid for Ukraine and its people. 

Reports that the actor donated $10 million towards a military operation or to the Visegrad Fund are untrue. A spokesperson for the Visegrad Fund told V.F. that it plans to donate 1 million euros to the relief effort, but its funds were allocated by the prime ministers of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic during a Wednesday meeting in London.

A source close to DiCaprio said that he has no family ties to the country, but he stands with Ukraine. “He has been watching things unfold and wanted to support Ukraine best he could,” the source said. “He will continue to support the humanitarian groups on the ground helping the people of Ukraine.” 

DiCaprio was appointed as one of the U.N.’s ambassadors for peace in 2014, when he was commended by then-Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for his contributions to climate change activism. “I feel a moral obligation to speak out at this key moment in human history,” DiCaprio said at the time. “It is a moment for action. How we respond to the climate crisis in the coming years will likely determine the fate of humanity and our planet.”

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