Strictly Come Dancing’s Nikita Kuzmin revealed that his family are unable to leave Ukraine following the tragic attacks on Kyiv by Russia.
On February 24, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to cross the border into Ukraine, which resulted in thousands of civilians killed with millions being evacuated from the country.
During Wednesday’s Loose Women, the professional dancer told presenters Jane Moore, Coleen Nolan, Brenda Edwards and Janet Street-Porter that seeing his childhood streets ‘bombed,’ was ‘heartbreaking.’
‘My granny was still there, and luckily after a month she managed to get to the border at Poland,’ he said.
‘I drove the car from Germany overnight to pick her up. My mother flew from Italy.’
Meanwhile Nikita – who was joined by Strictly co-star Graziano Di Prima – explained that some of his family members are still in Ukraine.
‘We are not able to take them out because of health conditions, so it’s constantly on my mind,’ he added.
He continued: ‘I don’t want to make it about myself, it’s nothing about me, it’s about the heroes who are defending our country.
‘It’s all about them, so I’m just praying to god that this is going to end soon.’
The 24-year-old ballroom and Latin pro has continued to encourage his followers to donate, drop off donations, donate medicines, support small businesses and ‘don’t stay silent’ amid the tensions.
‘She traveled from Kiev, my mom flew from Rome and I drove from Frankfurt and we all reunited in Krakow! Just so happy to be together [sic],’ he wrote on Instagram.
The pro posted a selfie with his grandmother, saying he wore sunglasses and covered her face with a heart sticker to hide ‘the lack of sleep.’
Nikita – who made his Strictly debut last year – will be returning to the annual BBC programme alongside Graziano, Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Gorka Marquez, Giovanni Pernice, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Luba Mushtuk, Nancy Xu, Cameron Lombard and Jowita Przystal.
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.
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