Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin has opened up about the heartbreaking situation in his home country of Ukraine.
The BBC One Latin and ballroom competition is well underway, as Nikita and his celebrity dance partner Ellie Simmonds have been impressing the Strictly judges week on week with their routines. However, Nikita is experiencing his own personal heartbreak as his family have been displaced by the war happening in Ukraine.
As he appeared on Loose Women today, Nikita explained how he finds it hard to talk about, as he admits he speaks to his grandparents every day. He says he is "trying to keep his head clear" despite everything going on.
Speaking on ITV's Loose Women today, he said: "I call my grandparents every single day and I talk to them. It’s very important for me to know what’s happening especially since the war restarted even harsher now, two weeks ago.
"So I’m trying to keep my head clear on what I need to do and I’m trying to help my country and my family at the same time."
He added: "The most important thing for me is to know that all of my friends are safe. All my family is safe. It’s important to know that my country is fighting back. The most important thing is that everybody is safe."
Nikita explained how he found it very "heartbreaking" talking about what has happened to his family.
"Of course we can’t avoid the war, we can't give up but I just hope that it ends as soon as possible. It’s really heartbreaking to be honest. It’s really hard to talk about it sometimes," he said as he opened up about the situation.
Back in the summer, Nikita recalled how he drove miles to collect his grandmother from the border.
"It’s quite heartbreaking and overwhelming with emotions. I never thought I could feel this way about my country," he said.
"When you have family and friends there and you grew up there and you see the streets one which you’ve been walking as a kid just bombed, and bombarded, and unfortunately people died. My granny was still there, and luckily after a month she managed to get to the border at Poland – I drove the car from Germany overnight to pick her up. My mother flew from Italy."
