‘Dancing With the Stars’ alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy flees Ukraine amid Russian invasion

Maksim Chmerkovskiy called Russian citizens a 'resilient bunch' and stated that Putin 'does not represent all the Russians.'

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is on his way to the United States after fleeing his home country of Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian-American Dancing with the Stars alum shared a video to Instagram Wednesday while waiting to board a flight from Warsaw, Poland to Los Angeles.

Speaking to his viewers, he pleaded that people not be “disgusted” with the general Russian population, but instead understand that Russian President Vladimir Putin “lied to his people for a very long time.”

“(Russian people) are confused, and they’re starting to be not sure,” Chmerkovskiy said. “Once they start to question, that’s all we need to have happen.”

He also called Russian citizens a “resilient bunch” and stated that Putin “does not represent all the Russians.”

“I don’t want there to be hate, I don’t want there to be disgust with (Russia) as a nation. They are our brothers and sisters.”

Chmerkovskiy has been chronicling his exit from Ukraine this week on his Instagram account. He fled Kyiv in an overcrowded train Monday, eventually making his way to Warsaw.

He recently returned to his native Ukraine to host the country’s iteration of World of Dance.