In an interview with “Good Morning America,” former “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy opened up about his ordeal in Ukraine. He was stranded there for a week after the Russian invasion began after traveling there to begin filming the Ukrainian version of “World of Dance.”
Maks talked about his arrest and how he didn’t “feel safe” in Kyiv, plus how guilty and shameful he felt escaping the country.
Maks Said The Train To Poland Was ‘Horrible’ & He Is Still ‘Dying Inside’ Thinking About It
In his interview on “Good Morning America” on Friday, March 4, Maks talked about finally being able to get a train to Poland. He said he was the only man on board and he still feels guilty about that.
“[The train] was horrible. I realized after we took off … all the people that didn’t get in [that train] have to now sleep right there in that train station. It’s not heated, it’s just a giant building, it’s cold, there’s kids everywhere. I’m dying inside because this is still very emotional stuff for me. There’s kids everywhere, babies everywhere,” said Maks.
He added, “I felt embarrassed the entire ride back because I was the only man on the train amongst all women and children. … I feel guilty. I feel bad. I feel shame. I feel upset.”
He also said that while he is a “big boy” who can handle himself, he knows that he is struggling mentally with what he experienced over there.
“I’m still very much in that fight-or-flight. I’m a big boy. I know for a fact that I’m going through something mentally. I know for a fact because I get into these cry moments, I’m emotional, I can’t control it. I cried on the way from the airport,” said Maks.
Maks Said Being Unable To Leave Was a New Feeling & It Hit Home For HIm That He Was ‘In Trouble’
Maks explained that for Ukrainians, they live in a heightened sense of tension because of Russia all the time, which is why he went back after having been home in the United States just days before the invasion — it’s so commonplace over there to be under a threat of war that he didn’t think anything would happen. He also had never experienced the feeling of being so trapped.
“It’s very difficult to process for me because we’re used to fly[ing] out, do some stuff, experience some things and always fly back, and here I am, I’m unable to fly home. And that to me was the biggest moment of understanding, like ‘you’re in trouble,'” said Maks.
He also said that when he was arrested for breaking curfew is the moment when he realized that he was not safe in Kyiv. What saved him is that someone recognized him as a judge from “Dancing With the Stars” — Maks was a judge on the Ukrainian version of the show — and it saved him from being carted away. But he does recognize how fortunate he was that it wasn’t like he was going to be shot and killed.
“It’s not like I was gonna get shot. I was going to get probably put somewhere where I can sit until they figure out who I am and check my identity or whoever it is. I would’ve been fine,” explained Maks. “But I felt like things got real. All of a sudden I don’t actually have all of the things needed to feel safe in this place at all. I’m not built for this at all. I’m just realizing that I’m not in the place where I should be.”
Maks was able to fly out of Poland and arrived back in the United States late Wednesday, March 2 where he was reunited with his wife and fellow “Dancing With the Stars” pro Peta Murgatroyd.
If you’d like to know how you can help the people of Ukraine, Maksim and Peta have both pointed to Bethenny Frankel’s B Strong organization, which aids in humanitarian crises around the world. You can donate here.
READ NEXT: Kirstie Alley Fires Back At Maks Chmerkovskiy, DWTS Host Defends Him
No comments:
Post a Comment