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Dancing With The Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy has hit back at a post made by his former partner on the show, Kirstie Alley, about the war in Ukraine.
Fighting has continued in Kyiv as Russian troops advanced on the capital city.
Maksim, who has been sharing updates from his home country, reposted a now-deleted tweet from Kirstie.
She wrote: ‘I don’t know what’s real or fake in this war. So I won’t be commenting. I’ll pray instead.’
For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live
Maksim responded: ‘Kirstie, we haven’t spoken in a while but I clearly remember being right next to you while you were organizing trucks of aid during Hurricane Sandy and I remember all that you were saying to me about situations where innocent [people] are suffering.
‘That same energy is needed right now.
‘No one needs your prayer if you don’t know what’s real or fake.’
Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Maksim hit back at Kirstie (Picture: Instagram/Maxim Chmerkovskiy)
One of Kirstie’s followers clarified: ‘She said she doesn’t know “WHAT” is real about the conflict. Not that the invasion itself is real. There is so much false info coming out, it’s pretty hard to know what exactly is going on.’
Kirstie responded: ‘Thank you. They just want to hate something .. but thank you for clarifying. Now they will probably attack you so get ready .. much love from here.’
She went on to say: ‘I’m trying to find some good places to donate things.’
Maksim and Kirstie were partnered together on Dancing With The Stars in 2011.
The Ukranian dancer has been sharing updates from the country, after he was forced to flee to a bomb shelter.
Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know
Fierce fighting has broken out in Kyiv as Russian forces descend on Ukraine's capital city.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the Ukrainian army to overthrow the democratically-elected government in a chilling TV address.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the conflict as a ‘catastrophe for our continent’, and imposed a fresh sanctions package that personally targets Putin.
However, the President has shown no signs of de-escalating anytime soon.
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Follow Metro.co.uk's live blog for rolling coverage of conflict as it happens.
‘The world is standing up, I know how hopeless and helpless everyone is feeling,’ he said. ‘There is real, major life suffering going on.’
He revealed that his friends were ‘sticking it out in the basement’ amid the attack, and their children were ‘getting sick’ from staying underground where ‘there’s no heat’.
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