Celebrity Big Brother star Nikita Kuzmin has revealed he receives hateful messages criticising his decision not to return to his native Ukraine to fight for his country.
In February 2022, Russia amplified the Russo–Ukrainian War, which began in 2014, by invading the entire country and causing more than $10billion in damages since.
On Friday night’s episode of the show, housemates are tasked with hosting a podcast, on which they lay bare various inside stories from their lives.
Speaking candidly to his co-stars, Strictly star Nikita said: ‘It happened 24th February 2022’, while David, who was hugging Fern and viewing on a screen, commented: ‘When Russia invaded’, while Fern stated: ‘Yeah Ukraine’.
Nikita continued: ‘I just remember my first instinct was to forget everything go for it, go back, knowing you’re not coming back. I still get messages today’.
Celebrity Big Brother star Nikita Kuzmin has revealed he receives hateful messages criticising his decision not to return to his native Ukraine to fight for his country
In February 2022, Russia amplified the Russo–Ukrainian War, which began in 2014, by invading the entire country and causing more than $10billion in damages since (Kyiv pictured in January)
On Friday night’s episode of the show, housemates are tasked with hosting a podcast, on which they lay bare various inside stories from their lives
He went on to explain that anytime he posts on social media, he receives messages about his decision not to return to Ukraine, saying: ‘I just post anything about Strictly and the only reply which I get is: “Go back home and fight for your country”.’
Elsewhere in the challenge, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu also got choked up while discussing her romantic life – as she became overwhelmed while discussing being cheated on.
Back in 2022, Nikita shared how his family in Ukraine check on each other every morning due to ‘heartbreaking’ war with Russia that continues to rage on.
The dancer said at the time that his grandparents and the rest of his family ring each other as soon as they wake up to ask ‘are you alive?’.
Nikita told how he contacts them regularly to try and ‘uplift’ their spirits but that their reality is ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘difficult’.
Speaking on Morning Live, he said: ‘My grandparents, they try to uplift each other, their morning starts with them calling each other, that’s the first thing they do…
‘They are just asking on the phone ‘are you alive’ and they reply ‘yes, I’m alive are you alive?’. It has been the same as that for the last 12 days. This is their reality now…
‘It is hard on the people, hearing my grandmother’s voice, every single day it is just getting harder obviously trying to uplift them but obviously this is just difficult. The war is going on and it is all just heartbreaking.’
Speaking candidly to his co-stars, Strictly star Nikita said: ‘It happened 24th February 2022’, while David, who was hugging Fern and viewing on a screen, commented: ‘When Russia invaded’, while Fern stated: ‘Yeah Ukraine’
He went on to explain that anytime he posts on social media, he receives messages about his decision not to return to Ukraine, saying: ‘I just post anything about Strictly and the only reply which I get is: “Go back home and fight for your country”.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pictured in December 2023
It comes after last week Nikita shared his heartbreak over his grandmother being trapped in Ukraine amid the devastating Russian invasion.
During an appearance on Lorraine at the time, the dancer expressed his anguish about the troubles his family is facing, admitting to the host that things are ‘incredibly scary’
Nikita was born in Ukraine but he and part of his family relocated to Italy when he was just nine years old.
He said he’s been calling his relatives every day after she was caught up in the conflict, stating that she was trying to protect him and his family from the worst news.
He explained: ‘Luckily, we still have a connection to her, so we are video calling her all the time. She’s actually trying to protect us from being scared…
‘Everytime we can hear gun shots or explosions in the background, she’s always telling us that it’s a movie that she’s put on TV and only afterwards, a couple of hours later, she’s confessing that actually it’s a real bomb, real gun shots – it’s incredibly scary.’
Nikita went on to share his pride at the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people, noting that Russia is not only battling against the Ukrainian army, but the whole country.
During an appearance on Lorraine at the time, the dancer expressed his anguish about the troubles his family is facing, admitting to the host that things are ‘incredibly scary’
