Maks Chmerkovskiyspoke in detail about his recent exit from Ukraine.
After going 36 hours without sleep, theDancing with the Starsalum, 42, spoke to his fans and followers ina 26-minute long Instagram videoposted on Tuesday. In the clip, the father of one opened up about his experience leaving Ukraine amid theRussian invasionand how it’s impacted him.
“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,” he said. “I don’t care how big [Russian President Vladimir Putin] is. I don’t care how mean he is. 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.”
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Chmerkovskiy made it out of Ukraine after a 23-hour train ride from Kyiv to Poland’s capital, Warsaw.
Hundreds have been reported dead or wounded, including children. Thousands more have fled or tried to escape Ukraine as a result.
Recalling his hours-long trip, Chmerkovskiy said the experience 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 said, adding that he stood up in the back of the train for hours so that those who needed a seat most could have one.
Chmerkovskiy also admitted to having “guilt” after escaping the war zone. “I thought about it, my guilt. I started to think about this and I came up with this analogy,” he said.
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Chmerkovskiy had “reconnected” with his native Ukraine in the years that followed. Because of that, he said he’s had “a very f—ing hard time leaving” amid the crisis.
“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.”
As Chmerkovskiy explained how he’s “not happy” with the current state of things in Ukraine, he acknowledged that “this isn’t over.”
“I’m going to need to figure out how to stay productive [and] what I can continue doing,” he said.
“I love you all tremendously. I love that people are paying attention,” he continued. “I love the fact that it f—– yolks you a little bit inside. I love the fact that you get angry because you’re like, ‘This is wrong.’ You get angry because something is wrong and you maybe even want to do something about it. And when everybody does something about it, then it becomes everybody against one person and that’s what needs to happen right now.”
Chmerkovskiyfirst revealedhe was in Ukraine on the day Russia invaded, saying in an emotional video he wanted to “go back home.” His wife,Peta Murgatroyd, laterpleaded for Chmerkovskiy’s safe return.
“My pain is overwhelming and I’m struggling, but you sending your positive light and love to him would mean the world to me. Truly, I wish for nothing more,“saidtheDWTSpro, who shares 5-year-old sonShai Aleksanderwith Chmerkovskiy.
“Many of you are asking for details and I don’t have the answers, but yes, he is safe right now. Please pray that he comes home soon. Please pray that he has a swift, safe exit,” Murgatroyd, 35, continued. “I have FAITH. I have HOPE and I have PRAYED so hard.”
On Tuesday, Murgatroyd shared, “I rotated candles and never let them blow out for those 5 days. 24/7. @maksimc I cannot wait to be with you again.”
source: people.com
