Professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy took to social media to share the point of view of someone living in the Ukraine during today’s Russian attacks. The former Dancing With the Star professional is currently residing in the Ukraine where he is originally from. He is currently filming the country’s new series World of Dance.
On February 24, Chmerkovskiy shared multiple videos outside in Kyiv, Ukraine. He began his video by emphasizing the fact that he typically doesn’t post to social media during times of difficulty. Behind Chmerkovskiy’s voice are loud military sirens and the dancer is visibly in distress.
“I want to go back home and I realize that I have a, I have the way to, I realize that I have a different passport and my family’s far away,” Chmerkovskiy said. “What I’m realizing is that my friends, who’s kids are here, whose moms, dads are here, elderly people are here and they can’t just can’t escape.”
In the video’s caption, Chmerkovskiy states that he feels the way he did when his family originally left the country in the 1990s. He wrote that the “aggression” is making him relive his feelings of PTSD.
Chmerkovskiy has spent the past six months in Ukraine and shared that he’s back in love with the country. He expressed that the Ukraine is more than what Russians may think. The dancer ended the video promising to keep fans informed.
“Dear Russians I know you know me and I know there’s a lot of people currently in Russia who are watching this, who are watching the news and hearing the propaganda and hearing this complete nonsense that’s been talked about,” Chmerkovskiy said. “I am not displaying someone who is pleading for someone else’s safety from a far distance, from a safe distance. I’m somebody who’s about to go into a bomb shelter because sh*t’s going down.”
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday in a mass assault by land, sea, and air. This attack is the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Ukraine reported that they have fought Russian troops across the entire border.
Many Ukraine residents awoke to explosions before dawn in Kyiv. Following the explosion, the country has been filled with gunfire and sirens blaring, like in Chmerkovskiy’s videos.
Corey Cesare Corey Cesare is Talent Recap's Managing Editor and featured YouTube Host. She has a love of all things pop culture and an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. Corey earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Cinema/Screen Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego in 2021. She spends her spare time shooting astro, nature, and portrait photography, and coming up with movie ideas that she hopes to make into a film someday.
