Chewbacca canvasses for Darth Vader in Ukraine, gets arrested, ends up in court

A man dressed as Chewbacca was arrested in Ukraine this weekend after illegally canvassing for the country's Internet Party.

The wookiee was reportedly stopped by police while driving Darth Vader to a polling station in the southern city of Odessa.

The Sith Lord was standing in the the city's mayoral election, but local laws mean candidates cannot canvass for votes on the day of the ballot.

Video footage of the incident shows at least four police officers attempting to detain what appears to be an audibly distressed Chewie:

Star Wars characters have made regular appearances in local and national elections in Ukraine over the past year, according to The Moscow Times.

Launched by Viktor Shevchenko, the Ukrainian Internet Party aims to enhance transparency in the country which has been dogged by war for nearly two years.

Separately, a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Odessa was transformed into the likeness of Darth Vader by artist Alexander Milov this weekend, owing to the country's "de-communisation" laws which require the removal of Communist symbols.

After reportedly failing to produce a valid license for the "Vadermobile" or any form of ID, Chewbacca appeared in court where he was fined 170 hryvna (£4.82). According to Sky News, Chewie said he could not pay the fine because his money was "tied up" in an intergalactic bank that does not have a branch on Earth.

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