DWTS' Maksim Chmerkovskiy's tearful post from Kyiv: 'Want to go back home'

Dancing with the Stars' Maksim Chmerkovskiy has shared a series of heartbreaking videos from Kyiv, Ukraine speaking about the "senseless activity" taking place in the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was condemned by leaders around the world after ordering his troops to invade Ukraine on Thursday.

In the hours that followed, there were explosions reported in Donetsk and Kyiv, the capital.

Maksim was born in Odesa, Soviet Ukraine in 1980 with his family immigrating to Brooklyn, New York in 1994, where he began competing as a professional dancer.

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He joined DWTS in 2006 and stayed until 2018, winning the mirror ball trophy in 2014 when paired with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis.

Taking to Instagram, Maksim revealed he had been in Ukraine judging a dance competition, revealing that some of those dancers are now "getting guns and getting deployed to defend the country".

He explained he was staying put and following instructions, despite some of his Ukrainian friends attempting to flee for the Polish border.

The dancer added that some of his friends were dealing with sick children and elderly parents and were unable to flee.

"There’s ALWAYS another way! WAR is NEVER an answer," he captioned a video of himself explaining the situation. "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***ing war. Hug your loved ones."

He pleaded with Russian civilians to stand up and be heard, saying the invasion was "one man's ambition".

Maksim has been splitting his time between Kyiv and Los Angeles, where he lives with his New Zealand-born wife Peta Murgatroyd and their 5-year-old son, Shai.

"Honestly, I’m getting really emotional. It’s been a little difficult. You know me, I stay strong. And I don’t show it, but I want to go back home," he said in another video.

"What I’m realising is that my friends whose kids are here, whose mums, dads are here, and elderly people are here, they can’t just escape."

"I am not at this point someone who is pleading for someone else’s safety from a far distance, from a safe distance. I’m somebody who’s about to go into a bomb shelter because s**t’s going down," he said, asking his followers not to bombard Peta with messages, adding he will do his best to keep them informed.

Peta shared a heartbreaking post about the situation, writing, "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."

She continued, "My pain is overwhelming and I'm struggling, but you sending your positive light and love to him would mean the world to me. Truly, I wish for nothing more."

Peta said that Maks "is safe right now" before adding, "Please pray for Ukraine and the innocent civilians who's lives are being greatly uprooted. I grew to love this country the couple of times I visited and they're in an unfathomable situation."

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