Last week, Russia’s invasion and full-scale military air missile attack on Ukraine began, coming from the North, East, and South. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the country the following morning, revealing that 137 lives were lost and hundreds more injured. 50,000 civilians have fled, while others seek safety and shelter.
Among those who were able to flee the country was Dancing With The Stars alum, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
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More than 50,000 Ukrainian civilians have fled, while countless others search for safety and shelter since Russia launched a military attack on Ukraine last Thursday.
Among them was Ukrainian Dancing With The Stars alum, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
The 42-year-old managed to flee the country on a “sweaty and claustrophobic” train full of women and children following his arrest in Kyiv.
Maksim was in Ukraine working as a judge on World of Dance (the Ukrainian version), and had no plans of leaving.
He wanted to stay and help defend his country after the invasion began, but was hit with a “reality check” when he was arrested by Russian military personnel.
“The streets are crazy,” he said. “At one point I got arrested but again all good, promise. That was probably the least traumatizing moment in this whole thing as far as Ukraine is concerned, but for me, it was just a reality check.”
“I’m going to try and make my way out,” he continued. “I’m going to start making my way towards the border. I have options.”
He admitted that while he was nervous, he also felt assured that everything would be alright.
“Just a little nervous but I think it’s going to be alright. I know it’s going to be okay.”
“This is a war. This is a crazy situation. It’s insane and I’m losing my final little things. This is not a cry for help. I’m a big boy. I can handle myself… but I’m starting to not be able to just sort of keep my head.”
It was announced last week that men between 18-60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine under martial law, but because Maksim holds a US passport, he is exempt.
“I made it on the train. We’re heading to Warsaw (hopefully). Train to Lviv was not an option,” the dance choreographer penned to his followers on Instagram.
He recalled the train station being chaotic and overwhelming.
“The situation at the train station is insane. At first, it feels manageable, but it gets a lot worse when it comes time to actually board the train,” he explained.
He revealed that the train is meant to hold no more than 30 people, but was packed with 135 people attempting to leave.
“Walkways are packed. People everywhere. It’s sweaty and claustrophobic,” he continued.
He recalled the most heart-wrenching scene he saw at the train station was a distraught boy being separated from his father, as he could not go with him and was required to stay in the country.
“What finally broke me is when I was watching an eight-ish year old boy, hysterically crying and not wanting to let go of his father,” Maksim wrote.
He recalled the boy telling his father that he wanted to stay in Ukraine with him to protect him.
“Verbatim: ‘If you stay I want to stay too because if they kill you I won’t be able to help,'” he penned.
On Sunday, Maksim gave fans another update, reassuring them that he was somewhere safe.
“I’m in a very safe place but this is nuts, and I think everybody is going through a lot of emotions and I think it’s time I expose mine in a more personal manner,” he said.
On Monday, Maksim confirmed he safely arrived in Warsaw, Poland.
He gave fans an update from his hotel room saying even though he made it to safety, he didn’t feel okay as the last few days have taken a heavy emotional toll on him.
A few hours later, Maksim gave fans another video update on Instagram from an airport in Poland.
The video was taken as he prepared to board his flight back to the United States.
In the video, Maksim once again assured followers that he was safe.
He did joke a bit that he has a new patch of gray hairs that, “was definitely not there” before his harrowing ordeal over the last few days.
He closed out his latest video update by sharing some news about a close friend living in Ukraine.
According to Maksim, Russian forces continue to heavily target civilian areas in Ukraine with rockets and artillery. Maksim revealed that his manager and her family who live near Kyiv but evacuated a few days ago were sent video footage of a rocket landing in their yard, highlighting the danger to the Ukrainian civilians who remain.
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