Maksim Chmerkovskiyis sharing his story of leavingUkraine amid Russia’s invasion.
In his first on-camera interview, the formerDancing With the Starspro, 42, appeared onGood Morning AmericaFriday, where he opened up about how he feels “guilty” for leaving his home country while others are not able to.
“I feel guilty. I feel bad,” Chmerkovskiy said during theearly morning broadcast. “I feel ashamed. I feel upset.”
“I’m still in a very much in that fight-or-flight [mode],” he later explained. “I’m a big boy, but I know for a fact that I’m going through something mentally … because I get into these cry moments, I’m emotional, I can’t control it.”
“I cried from the airport, I felt embarrassed … the entire ride back cause I was the only man on the train amongst all women and children,” Chmerkovskiy added.
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Earlier this week, Chmerkovskiy safely returned home to Los Angeles, California, after his week-long mission toleave Ukraine.
The dancer was photographed at Los Angeles International Airport, where he gave his wife Peta Murgatroyd an emotional hug. (The couple, who wed in 2017, share 5-year-old son Shai.)
GMA/ Twitter
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“I just don’t want to resent peace somewhere else because of what I just saw, that’s the reality. I don’t know really what to say right this second,” the Ukrainian-born dancer toldEntertainment Tonightwhen he arrived at the airport.
The specific details of how Chmerkovskiy got out of Ukraine are not yet known. Men in the age range of 18-60 hadreportedly been prohibitedfrom leaving the country under a mobilization order. Thousands of people have fled or tried to escape Ukraine amid warnings of a possible “refugee crisis.”
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Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country.
Zelenskyy vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
