A lot of press has been given to Maksim Chmerkovskiy and his plight in Ukraine over the last week.
Maksim was in Ukraine as a judge on that country’s version of Dancing with the Stars when Russia invaded the country.
By that time, he was stuck there until officials finally ordered him to leave. Maksim is now back in America, going through survivor’s guilt after seeing the horrors he witnessed in the country.
Maksim was born in Ukraine, but he is an American citizen, moving to the United States when he was a young child.
Now, another Dancing with the Stars pro is speaking out about the violence in Ukraine.
Artem Chigvintsev talks Russia-Ukraine war
Artem Chigvintsev is Russian. His family still lives in Russia and one of the reasons he has not married his fiance Nikki Bella yet is because he wants his family at the wedding.
The couple even recently said that they would likely move the wedding to Paris to make it easier on his family with the conflict between the United States and Russia.
That has before the attack on Ukraine.
Now, Artem finds himself in a difficult situation, with his home country bombing Ukraine, the western countries placing sanctions against Russia, and his family still living there.
“This hasn’t been easy to write and really gather my thoughts on the devastating situation that’s been happening right now in Ukraine,” Artem wrote in an Instagram Story (via Fox News).
“I want to make very clear to everyone that I don’t support war of any kind. It’s devastating to see people die and suffer the costs,” he added.
Artem has friends and family in Russia and Ukraine
This is even tougher on Artem, who moved to the United States in 2003. He lives in Los Angeles, but he has relationships with people in Russia and Ukraine, putting him in an awkward position.
“I do have family and friends on both sides Ukraine and Russia and this situation directly affecting me so please don’t assume that I’m ignorant about it,” he continued. “I promise that I’m doing my best to support and donate to the organization that helping right now.”
This is even more personal for him since he doesn’t know when or if he will ever see his parents and brother again.
“The thought of me not being able to see my Mom, Dad and Brother are very real, the thought of my son never be able to be held by my parents are also very real,” Artem said.
Dancing with the Stars is on hiatus. The dancing reality competition will return to ABC in late 2022.