Liev Schreiber on his $1m fundraising for Ukraine: ‘Doctors are carrying out open heart surgery by flashlight’
As Russian missile strikes against Ukraine’s power and water supplies ramped up in recent weeks, images of surgeons carrying out life-saving work by torchlight started to make headlines around the world.
Liev Schreiber, who you might know as Hollywood “fixer” Ray Donovan in the hit TV series, or for his roles in films varying from blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine to the Oscar-winning Spotlight, had already been fundraising to support a range of organisations in Ukraine since the start of the war. But the stories emerging about hospitals being plunged into darkness made him want to do more.
The American actor, whose grandfather was a Polish-Ukrainian immigrant, has launched an appeal to raise $1m (about £833,000) to buy generators to help medics in need; to give them the basic conditions of light and warmth in which to continue their work should power outages continue.
Speaking to Sky News in a UK exclusive interview, Schreiber said he felt he had no choice but to help.
“Russia‘s strategy of responding to military advances by attacking civilian infrastructure has gotten pretty drastic,” he said. “They’ve done a tremendous amount of damage to the energy infrastructure in Ukraine. What we are doing, is just to [help] hospitals and doctors… for them to be able to continue to do the work that they need to do, which is so essential, to keep people alive.
“There’s a couple of hospitals that have had these extraordinary examples of doctors completing open heart surgeries by candlelight and flashlight. These are incredibly capable medical professionals. What we’re trying to do is to raise money to buy generators, to keep all of these hospitals lit so that the medics and the surgeons can do their work.”
Schreiber, a five-time Golden Globe and three-time Emmy nominee, is an ambassador for Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s United24, set up by the president to raise funds for the country following the outbreak of the war.
He has now been joined by five fellow United24 ambassadors – footballer Andriy Shevchenko, heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk, astronaut Scott Kelly, tennis player Elina Svitolina and historian Timothy Snyder – who are all supporting the generator fundraising campaign. Generators start at about $8,000. In just over a week, they have raised $220,000 (about £179,000).
Russia has reportedly been carrying out attacks on Ukraine’s electricity transmission and heating infrastructure since October, in what Kyiv and its allies say is a deliberate campaign to harm civilians. The Kremlin has rejected accusations that it targets civilian facilities.
Saving lives in the dark
Pic: Oleh Duda/AP
This photograph was shared by cancer surgeon Oleh Duda, who was in the middle of a complicated surgery at a hospital in the city of Lviv when explosions were heard nearby. Moments later, the lights went out, and he had no choice but to keep working with only a headlamp for light before a generator brought the power back after three minutes. “These fateful minutes could have cost the patient his life,” the surgeon said in an interview.
The operation on the patient’s major artery took place on 15 November, when the city in western Ukraine suffered blackouts as Russia unleashed yet another missile strike on the power grid, damaging nearly 50% of the country’s energy facilities.
In Kyiv, the city’s Heart Institute posted a video of similar scenes earlier in November, of surgeons operating on a child’s heart with the only light coming from headlamps and a battery-powered flashlight.
“The medical infrastructure… has just been decimated in Ukraine,” Schreiber said. “Just to keep those doctors working at saving lives is so crucial right now.”
The actor has visited Ukraine three times so far year and his Instagram page is almost solely dedicated to calls for support, as well as clips of the “heroes” he has met there and the work he has carried out himself in and around the country to raise funds and deliver aid.
As well as partnering with United24, he is also the co-founder of BlueCheck, a crisis response organisation set up just weeks after the war broke out with the aim of fast-tracking urgent financial support to Ukrainian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) – helping to fund everything from psychological support programmes to the evacuation of orphans.
‘Did I have that level of courage? I felt the answer was no. So I had to do the best I could’
Schreiber has been joined by Ukrainian footballer Andriy Shevchenko in his fundraising efforts for generators. Pic: @andriiyushchak
While he is connected through his Ukrainian heritage, Schreiber says it is something bigger that has compelled him to offer his support. “As I sat on my couch with my children watching this war develop, and watching these normal Ukrainian men say goodbye to their wives and children, knowing that they may never see them again as they were loaded on to buses to fight in a war in which they were wildly outmanned and outgunned…
“The idea that it was an existential crisis for them, that without these men going to war, Ukraine would cease to exist. They would lose their ability to vote for their own leaders, to have their own homes, to speak their own language, to raise their children the way they wanted to, to love whom they wanted to love… Anything, everything would be gone.
“That pure idea of democracy for me feels like it’s being challenged all around the world right now. And I felt like when I saw that, particularly in front of my own children, questions were raised for me: Could I do that? Was I Ukrainian? Did I have that level of courage? And I felt like the answer was no. So I had to do the best that I could do, being as Ukrainian as I was – which I’m not, I’m American – I felt like I owe a debt to my grandparents and my ancestors who fought that particular fight over 80 years ago, and it’s now being fought again.
“As we see disinformation and misinformation popping up all over the world, it feels like Ukraine is the sort of stark example where it’s incredibly clear what’s happening. Maybe not to folks who are limited to Kremlin media, but for the rest of us, it’s very clear how fragile our democracy is and that we need to protect it and that we need to cherish the freedoms and liberties that we have and that were earned by our ancestors.”
‘We are all brothers and sisters and we need to think like that’
Speaking to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pic: United24
Schreiber, who is a parent to two teenagers with his former partner, actress Naomi Watts, said as a father he could not sit by and do nothing.
“The life that [my children] have, the luxuries that are afforded them because of the battles my grandparents fought and the opportunities that I’ve been allowed, are not just granted,” he said.
“It feels like public discourse has lost a kind of civility and I think that’s being reflected in this war. I need my children to know what’s important. I need my children to know what the values are and principles that are important to me are, which is that we treat each other with civility and humanity.”
Horrified by the images and news reports coming out of Ukraine at the start of Russia’s war, the world was quick to respond with donations of money, essentials and support. But nine months on, the initial groundswell of support has inevitably dipped.
Read more: Eyewitness – what the strikes on energy mean for Ukraine’s winter
Schreiber said the Ukrainians he has spoken to are in “remarkably good spirits… just incredibly resilient people and they’re convinced that it’s just a matter of time before this is over and they’re victorious”.
But he still hopes people will continue to show support for the country in any way possible.
“We are all brothers and sisters and we need to think like that. And we need, especially at this time of year, to be aware of those in need. And these Ukrainian people are deeply in need right now.”
Liev Schreiber is fundraising for United24
MasterChef presenter John Torode will no longer work on the show after an allegation he used an “extremely offensive racist term” was upheld, the BBC has said.
His co-host Gregg Wallace was also sacked last week after claims of inappropriate behaviour.
On Monday, Torode said an allegation he used racist language was upheld in a report into the behaviour of Wallace. The report found more than half of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated.
Torode, 59, insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident involving him and he “did not believe that it happened,” adding “racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment”.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2008. Pic: PA
In a statement on Tuesday, a BBC spokesperson said the allegation “involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace”.
The claim was “investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm Lewis Silkin”, they added.
“The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously,” the spokesperson said.
“We will not tolerate racist language of any kind… we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken.
“John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”
Australian-born Torode started presenting MasterChef alongside Wallace, 60, in 2005.
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Why Gregg Wallace says he ‘will not go quietly’
A statement from Banijay UK said it “takes this matter incredibly seriously” and Lewis Silkin “substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018”.
“This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint,” the TV production company added.
“Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”
Read more from Sky News:
BBC reveals highest-earning stars
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Earlier, as the BBC released its annual report, its director-general Tim Davie addressed MasterChef’s future, saying it can survive as it is “much bigger than individuals”.
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BBC annual report findings
Speaking to BBC News after Torode was sacked, Mr Davie said a decision is yet to be taken over whether an unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired.
“It’s a difficult one because… those amateur chefs gave a lot to take part – it means a lot, it can be an enormous break if you come through the show,” he added.
“I want to just reflect on that with the team and make a decision, and we’ll communicate that in due course.”
Mr Davie refused to say what the “seriously racist term” Torode was alleged to have used but said: “I certainly think we’ve drawn a line in the sand.”
In 2022, Torode was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to food and charity.
Entertainment
BBC gives update on MasterChef’s future after Gregg Wallace allegations – as annual report released
The head of the BBC says MasterChef can survive its current scandal as it is “much bigger than individuals” – but the corporation must “make sure we’re in the right place in terms of the culture of the show”.
Director-general Tim Davie said he “absolutely” thinks the popular cooking contest has a future, with the production’s current deal with the corporation set to run out in 2028, and praised it as “a great programme that’s loved by audiences”.
Speaking as the BBC unveiled its annual report, and following a series of recent controversies, Mr Davie said the corporation’s leadership team will not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values”, and confirmed “senior individuals and people involved in these cases are being held to account”.
On Monday, it was revealed an independent review into “inappropriate behaviour” by MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace had upheld more than half of the allegations against him.
In response, Wallace said he was “deeply sorry” and never set out to “harm or humiliate”.
A few hours later, MasterChef presenter John Torode said an allegation he used “racial language” was upheld in the report as part of a review.
Torode has said he has “no recollection of the incident” and “did not believe that it happened”.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2019. Pic: Casey Gutteridge/Shutterstock
Mr Davie said the BBC’s leadership team would not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values,” while BBC chair Samir Shah acknowledged there were still pockets within the corporation where “powerful individuals” can still “make life for their colleagues unbearable”.
They said several BBC staff members had been dismissed in the last three months following an independent review into workplace culture.
The review found the corporation did not have a toxic culture but there was a minority of people who behaved unacceptably and whose behaviour was not addressed.
Wallace, who was sacked from MasterChef last week, is not included in that count as he was not directly contracted by the corporation, but was employed by independent production company Banijay.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2008. Pic: PA
The BBC has yet to decide if the unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired or not.
‘We will make mistakes’
News of the findings in the Gregg Wallace report came on the same day it was revealed the BBC was deemed to have breached its editorial guidelines over a Gaza documentary that was narrated by the child of a Hamas official.
Media watchdog Ofcom subsequently launched its own investigation into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February.
While the 2024-25 annual report showed a small rise in trust overall for the corporation, Mr Davie said it had been a year which saw the reputation of the BBC damaged by “serious failings” in the making of the documentary.
He said it was important that the BBC “took full responsibility for those failings and apologised for them” and called the documentary “the most challenging editorial issue” he has dealt with.
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BBC under fire over Wallace and Gaza
Mr Davie said the BBC was “taking action to ensure proper accountability and we’re taking immediate steps to stop a failing like this being repeated”.
Despite a series of controversies in recent months – including livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury, when the band led chants of “death to the IDF” – Mr Davie insisted he can “lead” the BBC in the right direction.
When asked if he would resign, he replied: “I simply think I’m in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way.
“We will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership and myself, I’ve been very clear, and I think we have been decisive.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie. Pic: PA
After what he called a “tough period,” he said the job of director-general was not one to take on “if you want a quiet life or a stress-free existence”.
Mr Shah backed Mr Davie, saying he had shown “very strong leadership throughout all this period and he has my full support”.
The report showed that Mr Davie, who has been in the role since 2020, has had a 3.8% pay rise, with his salary going up from £527,000 last year to £547,000.
BBC’s top-earning stars revealed
The BBC annual report also revealed its on-screen top earners, which saw former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker top the chart for the eighth year running.
The former Match Of The Day presenter, who left the BBC in May, earned £1.35m in 2024/25, according to the corporation’s annual report.
Last year’s BBC annual review was overshadowed by controversy over flagship show Strictly Come Dancing, while the year before saw disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards named the corporation’s highest-paid news anchor, despite having been suspended for nine months.
Gary Lineker has topped the list of the BBC’s highest-earning stars for the eighth year running.
The former Match Of The Day presenter, who left the BBC in May, earned £1.35m in 2024/25, according to the corporation’s annual report.
Presenter Zoe Ball was the second-highest paid, earning £517,000 for her work on the Radio 2 breakfast show, which she left in December last year.
Her replacement as breakfast show host Scott Mills was just outside the top 10 as the eleventh highest earner – with a salary of between £355,000 and £359,000.
Ball has since returned to a new Saturday afternoon show on Radio 2, which she began hosting in May.
Lineker’s former Match Of The Day colleague Alan Shearer was the third-highest earner, with a salary of between £440,000 and £444,999.
Exact salaries for Lineker and Ball are listed in the BBC’s annual report, but the pay of the rest of the on-air talent is listed in bands.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James was fourth on the list, while presenters Fiona Bruce and Nick Robinson were the joint fifth-highest earners.
The list does not include people who are paid through independent production companies or the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Studios.
Read more:
John Torode says claim he used racist language upheld
BBC gives update on MasterChef’s future
BBC broke editorial guidelines with Gaza documentary
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BBC reputation damaged by ‘serious errors’
The BBC’s annual report comes as the organisation has faced criticism for a series of failings.
They have included the airing of a controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury – where the band led chants of “death to the IDF”, and claims of “inappropriate behaviour” by MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.
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BBC under fire over Wallace and Gaza
Speaking after the publication of the report, BBC director-general Tim Davie said MasterChef can survive its current scandal as it is “much bigger than individuals”.
But he stressed that the corporation must “make sure we’re in the right place in terms of the culture of the show”.
They said several BBC staff members had been dismissed in the last three months, following an independent review into workplace culture.
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