‘DWTS’ Alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy Shares ‘Dire’ Update From Ukraine Capital: WATCH
Maksim Chmerkovskiy shared a "dire" update from his native country following Russia's invasion.
The 42-year-old Dancing With the Stars alum posted two videos to Instagram Friday (Feb. 25) from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, letting his followers know he is safe while warning of a serious situation as Russian forces march towards the city.
"I'm out here, again, I'm safe," he began. "We haven't been told to move, and I'm just following instructions. That's all I can say, but the reality is that I'm also talking to my friends that are here, the Ukrainians, and the situation is pretty dire."
Chmerkovskiy explained that "people are being mobilized" in Ukraine, and "the whole country is being called to go to war" — even people he recently judged in dance competitions.
"Men, women, boys… are going forward and getting guns and getting deployed to defend the country," he continued, stressing that although he doesn't "represent everybody" in the country, some "are very aggressively charged" and the pending fight is going to "be tough."
"If it's not resolved in a peaceful manner in some way or form in the next day or so, or two, I think it's gonna take a turn for very, very much more aggressive actions and a lot more casualties," he continued.
The dancing pro noted that due to COVID-19, some people are getting sick and the elderly are having trouble leaving the country. He ended the video promising more updates when he's "able to."
"Please speak and post about all of this, so talking resumes and shooting stops," he captioned the clip. Watch below:
In a second upload, Chmerkovskiy insisted that he is "not currently trying to leave" Ukraine, but that he is also "not moving towards the border" as it's "not safe."
His followers wished him well and thanked him for keeping them in the loop.
"Thank you for updating us all. I hope you continue to stay safe. Praying for you and everyone over there," one user wrote, while another commented: "Praying for you and everyone in your country. Be safe."
On Thursday (Feb. 24), Chmerkovskiy's wife, Peta Murgatroyd, took to Instagram to plead for prayers for her husband.
"Please pray for my husband Maks. I don't usually ask these things from my social media network, however today is extremely hard and the next few will be even harder," the DWTS pro shared via Instagram.
"Please pray for Ukraine and the innocent civilians who's [sic] lives are being greatly uprooted. I grew to love this country the couple of times I visited and they're in an unfathomable situation," the 35-year-old Broadway star continued.
Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd tied the knot in 2017. They share 5-year-old son Shai.