Yesterday, we reported that former “Dancing With The Stars” professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy had finally escaped Ukraine after making it onto a train to Poland.
Now, Chmerkovskiy is opening up about why he feels “guilt” about leaving the country of his birth, which is currently being invaded by Russia.
DWTS' Maksim Chmerkovskiy is sharing an emotional message from Ukraine: "I will never be the same." pic.twitter.com/vlKG8YUj77
— E! News (@enews) February 24, 2022
Backstory: Former ‘DWTS’ Pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy Sends Chilling Video From Ukraine – ‘I’m Very Scared’
‘I’m Scared, I’m Confused, I’m Terrified’
People Magazine reported that Chmerkovskiy addressed his Instagram followers in a lengthy Instagram video on Tuesday after going 36 hours with no sleep.
“I’m scared, I’m confused, I’m terrified and I just lived through some s— that I’m going to need a lot of therapy for. But I know this — it’s us little guys against the big guy,” Chmerkovskiy said.
“I don’t care how big [Russian President Vladimir Putin] is. I don’t care how mean he is,” the 42 year-old added. “When we’re together, I can see what can happen. We can have a little guy finally win and it will be a joint effort and after that, we can figure out how to make sure that there’s never again one f—— person, one man, who can do whatever he’s doing.”
The train ride from Ukraine to Poland was 23 hours, and Chemerkovskiy said it was “like out of a movie.”
“When the train car got packed and packed and it kept getting more and more packed, I was like, hold on. I’m thinking to myself there’s no air. There’s no way that we can travel [this way],” he continued, going on to say that he spent hours standing up in the back of the train so that the people who needed seats could get them.
View this post on Instagram
Chmerkovskiy Feels ‘Guilt’ Leaving Ukraine
Chmerkovskiy then talked about the “guilt” he feels after leaving Ukraine.
“I thought about it, my guilt. I started to think about this and I came up with this analogy,” he said, going on to say:
“In ’94, I was put up for adoption and I got adopted by a beautiful, young, vibrant, exciting, forward-thinking country and I fell in love and I left Ukraine in ’94 [as] a sad, sad person because I felt like I was getting unrooted. … I was in this new country.
But I turned around and said, ‘You know what? This is what I’m going to do.’ The 14-year-old Maks, with his family and all the love and support that he had, did stuff and here we are.”
Chmerkovskiy was born in Ukraine in 1980 before moving to the United States in 1994 at the age of 14. However, he explained that he’s “reconnected” with his home nation of Ukraine over the past few years, which is why he had “a very f—ing hard time leaving” amid the crisis.
‘I’m Having A Horrible Time’
“I’m having a horrible time. I’m having very mixed emotions,” he continued. “I have my friends there, my friends in [the] frontline. … I can’t hear from some of the people. I can’t get in touch with them. I don’t know if they’re dead.”
Chmerkovskiy concluded by saying that “this isn’t over,” and that he will now begin figuring out a way he can be “productive” in helping the Ukrainian people.
We are so relieved to see that Chmerkovskiy has made it to safety, but our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of Ukraine.
Please join us in saying a prayer for them as well.
Read Next: ‘DWTS’ Alum Maks Chmerkovskiy Blasts Kirstie Alley For Ukraine Comments – ‘No One Needs Your Prayer’
More About:Celebrity Entertainment