$120k raised to make a Zelenskiy action figure
STORY: Location: New York
Ukraine's president has been made into an action figure
A Kickstarter campaign was launched by a New York design company
to fund production of the miniature Volodymyr Zelenskiy
They raised more than $120,000 in less than two weeks
[Jason Feinberg, FCTRY, CEO and Creative Director]
"It's the first time that we've made a foreign leader and we didn't know if our audience was going to come along with us. But we also felt like it was the most relevant story of the moment, and there seemed to be a sort of groundswell of energy and support for what's going on in Ukraine. So we were excited to make him. And then also part of what we do with our action figures is every time we make one, we align it with a cause. So for every figure that we sell, $1 goes to that cause. And we wanted to do something where we could raise money for Ukrainian refugees."
Zelenskiy, 44, swept to power three years ago
The former comic actor has won global praise
for his defiance in resisting Russia's invasion
"...He's the perfect leader for this moment, just this super inspirational character. He has this real strength that comes across, but it's humble and he sort of represents the opposite of everything that we've come to associate with politics, he's strong, he's humble, he's a good-hearted person. And I think a lot of people are catching on to that energy and feeling like he's someone that they want to emulate."
Russia's Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February
in what it calls a 'special operation' to disarm and 'denazify' the country