Maksim Chmerkovskiy describes 'claustrophobic' train escape from Ukraine as Russians invade: 'TRAUMATIZING'
- "Dancing with the Stars" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy made it out of Ukraine and safely to Poland.
- He described "traumatizing" scenes in which he was packed in a train car with 135 people.
"Dancing with the Stars" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy revealed he has made it out of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
"I made it on the train," he said in an Instagram story.
"The situation at the train station is insane," he added, describing the chaotic scene he faced at the train station. "At first it feels manageable, but it gets A LOT worse when it comes time to actually board the train."
"Long story but all I can say now is that I'm a big man with nothing but a backpack and it's TRAUMATIZING," Chmerkovskiy said.
The dancer said he was loaded into a train cabin — that is usually occupied with only three people — with four other adults and seven children. He said that a typical car carries 30 people, but refugees were told they had to fit 135 people into each train car for this trip.
"People everywhere. It's sweaty and claustrophobic," he said.
In a video on his Instagram story, he said they stopped at a station about 30 minutes outside of Poland to change wheels on the train.
"Can't make this up," he said.
Finally, on the final slide of his story Tuesday, Chmerkovskiy wrote: "I'm in Poland."
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a refugee crisis on the country's western borders as civilians flee the violence.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.