‘DWTS’ Alum Maks Chmerkovskiy Gets Ripped As A ‘Coward’ For Fleeing Ukraine On Train Packed With Women And Children

Former “Dancing With The Stars” professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy is being slammed online for fleeing Ukraine amidst the Russian invasion on a train filled with women and children. 

Backstory: Former ‘DWTS’ Pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy Sends Chilling Video From Ukraine – ‘I’m Very Scared’

Chmerkovskiy Hit With Backlash

Daily Mail reported that social media users have accused Chmerkovskiy of being a “coward” as he has embarked on a major media blitz to talk about the “survivor’s remorse” he allegedly feels about leaving Ukraine.

Chmerkovskiy was born in Ukraine in 1980, and he moved to the United States with his family at the age of 14. He had been in Ukraine filming “World Of Dance” last month when the invasion began, and he immediately began documenting his experiences there as much as he could on Instagram.

Chmerkovskiy Claims He Had ‘No Choice’ But To Leave

Chmerkovskiy told CNN that he had “no choice” but to leave Ukraine, saying that he had been told that by “multiple sources including military personnel.”

“I felt really bad going, and the feeling sunk in even worse because when I got to the train station, I realized that it’s all women and children,” he added. 

Related: Maksim Chmerkovskiy Has Emotional Reunion With His Wife ‘DWTS’ Star Peta Murgatroyd After Escaping Ukraine

“I just got told that I had to go. I have to say about Ukrainian people in general, they were ready for this conflict. That was the whole general feeling,” Chmerkovskiy continued. “All the time I was being told if something happens, ‘we’ll take you out, you’ll be the first.'”

“When everything happened, it happened suddenly,” he added. “The day it happened, somebody was bombarding my phone saying ‘you have to go now.'”

Chmerkovskiy notably did not elaborate on who specifically allegedly told him it was time to get out. Other Americans stuck in Ukraine have claimed that they have received no assistance from the State Department on how to get out of the country, which could partly be why so many find Chmerkovskiy’s story to be dubious at best.

‘I Realized It’s All Women And Children’

Chmerkovskiy also said that he was shocked to get on the train and find that he seemed to be the only man onboard.

“I realized it’s all women and children and I’m too big and I’m taking up space. I put myself in between trains. Internally, I justified my space because I was outside,” he said, claiming that he decided to sit in between two train cars for this reason. However, he admitted he eventually went back inside because it was “too freezing.” 

Chmerkovskiy said he wants to return to the region to help.

“I spent the last couple days with survivors’ remorse,” he said. “I’m working on an opportunity to go back to Poland. I want to justify my safe out that way.”