Dancing With The Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is in Kyiv, Ukraine right now, where he had been judging on the Ukrainian version of the reality TV dancing competition show.

But just like millions of other Ukrainians in their homeland, his life was overturned on Thursday. Now, he is grappling with the terrifying and unsettling effects of Russia’s invasion of the eastern European nation, which began before dawn this morning.

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Chmerkovskiy took to Instagram in the early hours of Thursday morning to share with his followers — many of who are American, of course — the realities of being in Ukraine’s capital city during this military escalation. Speaking directly to the camera while standing on a balcony several floors above a street very close to the city center, the 42-year-old dancing professional said somberly (below):

“Yes, I’m here, I’m in Kyiv, contrary to what I probably should have done a while ago… No one saw this coming. Not that no one saw this coming, but everyone was hoping that the finality of the situation would be averted, and that there’s not going to be this… kind of Russian measures.”

In the caption of that initial IG video, the dancer added:

“There’s ALWAYS another way! WAR is NEVER an answer! #standwithukraine”

Amen. And he reflected more on his family’s history of living in the former Soviet republic 30 years ago, prior to coming to America. Writing about how his “old PTSD I’ve finally fixed is coming back,” Peta Murgatroyd‘s husband added:

“P.S. I will never be the same. This is stressful and I’m getting old feelings back, like I’ve done this before. This does feel like the way it was when and why we left in the 90s. Like my old PTSD I’ve finally fixed is coming back. I literally only just forgot about those ‘always on the edge’ feelings and actually started worrying about things like bbq grills. I’m crying as I’m typing this because all man deserves to worry about ‘bbq grills’ and not f**king war. Hug your loved ones.”

Wow.

Here is that first clip (below), which also shows what appears to be several different Ukrainian family groups walking hurriedly while carrying suitcases and bags — presumably to flee the city and avoid the conflict:

Less than an hour later, Maksim added a second longer video to his IG account, too. In that one (below), he showed more shots of activity in the city of Kyiv as Russia’s military offensive continues to move forward:

So scary.

We honestly can’t even imagine what that must be like. Two hours after those initial posts, later on Thursday morning, Maksim posted a series of further video updates to his IG Stories to give more context to people following his country’s ordeal. Opening up about the reality of his personal situation in Kyiv, the professional dancer added:

“It’s tough, it’s scary, it’s a little uneasy. It’s a lot of pressure. But I’m safe. I have options, I think. … The main thing is that I’m safe. A lot of people are not. This is very, very real what’s happening right now. I’m packed, and I’m ready. My hotel has a bomb shelter, and we can go there right now. … I’m going to try to keep you guys updated and show you what it’s really like, but the reality is that it’s exactly what it looks like on TV.”

We can only hope he will continue to be safe during this uncertain situation.

Not that it matters much relative to the severity of the situation on the ground in Ukraine, but it was at least a little heartwarming to see so much support for Chmerkovskiy and his homeland in the comments sections of his posts (below):

“So sad and I have been up all night following…..praying for all the Ukraine people and just completely unnecessary!”

“Praying for Ukraine. Sending you love. Please get home safe.”

“May god be with the Ukrainian people we are praying for Ukraine and you during this horrible time”

“Sending love to you and your country.”

“Praying for Ukraine and your safe return home to your family”

“It is unbelievable what we have to witness since this morning. Those kids, parents, grandparents fleeing with only a bag breaks my heart! Please be safe and I hope someone can stop this”

“I thought about you and Peta this morning. This is so sad for the whole world. I pray everyone will be ok and May we all find peace.”

“Maks please come home. We are so worried about you.”

Very powerful.

Our hearts break for Ukraine.

May this scary situation be resolved quickly and peacefully…

[Image via Maksim Chmerkovskiy/Instagram]

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