“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy posted emotional videos on Instagram from Ukraine just hours after Russia invaded his native country.
Chmerkovskiy, who immigrated to the United States in 1991, is in Kyiv filming the reality competition series “World of Dance UA.”
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On the first of several videos, Chmerkovskiy said he’s “not a social media guy at times of some kind of personal difficulty and this is definitely not the time where I would normally be posting anything on social media.”
“Honestly I’m getting a little emotional, it’s been a little difficult,” Chmerkovskiy said.
In the text of his post, the dancer said, “This does feel like the way it was when and why we left in the 90s. Like my old PTSD I’ve finally fixed is coming back.”
Chmerkovskiy said he doesn’t usually show emotion and is able to stay strong, but teared up as he said he wanted to go back home.
Chmerkovskiy acknowledged that, unlike the citizens of Ukraine, he has an American passport and can return to the U.S. where he lives with his wife, fellow “DWTS” pro, Peta Murgatroyd, and their 5-year-old son, Shai.
“What I’m realizing is that my friends whose kids are here, and whose moms, dads are here and elderly people who are here, they can’t just escape,” Chmerovskiy said.
He pleaded with the citizens of Russia to get up and say something and not to believe the propaganda.
“This is all one man’s ambition,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I’m not at this point somebody who is pleading for someone else’s safety from a far distance, from a safe distance. I’m somebody who is about to go in a bomb shelter,” he said.
Chmerovskiy said he was very scared and expressed his love for Ukraine.
“In 2022 civilized world, this is not the way we do things,” Chmerovskiy said.
You can watch his full videos below, but viewer discretion is advised due to language that some may find offensive.