Oksana Platero has paid tribute to her former Strictly Come Dancing, Robert Rinder, after he found her grandmother and aunt as they escaped war-torn Ukraine.
The 33-year-old Ukrainian born professional dancer partnered criminal barrister and TV star Robert, 43, in the 2016 series and he has gone to the Polish-Ukranian border to report from the front line.
Robert shared heartbreaking photos of him with Oksana's relatives, after he vowed to find them while she was trapped by work commitments in the United States.
She has now shown her love and appreciation for his efforts with a touching post on Instagram.
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Oksana wrote: "I can’t say thank you enough to my wonderful SCD partner @robrinder and his team for being there for my family and so many others. You are a truly remarkable man and my love for you is limitless. The world needs more people like you. #ukraine #family #ukrainewar "
Her post was met with a lot of love and Robert was described as a "true hero" among those who commented.
Oksana also shared a number of pics which Rob had posted previously, which showed the emotional moments when he located her family members, which he said he would find and bring them supplies, including medication they have been missing.
Rob wrote on Instagram along side the tearful pics: “Oksana’s family: Auntie Lidya and Grandma Zoya.
“We managed to reach them this morning with a wheelchair & some medical supplies.. Despite having nearly nothing.. they are ‘grateful for everything’.”
The Judge Rinder star has been documenting his trip to Poland, where he has met many refugees who have been displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He previously shared a photo of Oksana’s grandmother, writing online: “Oksana’s grandma is 95.
“She spent a week fleeing Russian shelling & FINALLY crossed the Polish border with no wheelchair, food or medical supplies but she is resolute & strong.
“She remembers the last war & knows that ultimately they will return home and Tyranny will fail."
He also spoke on ITV earlier this week as he gave details of Oksana’s family’s struggles.
Rob said: "It's been such a gift to be able to give something back to Oksana - as silly as it is against this background - there was such joy in Strictly and I loved every bit of it.
"Then I discovered that her family were trying to flee Ukraine, avoiding shelling and managed to cross the border a couple of days ago."
He continued: "This is a story that illustrates the situation people find themselves in. The 95-year-old grandma doesn't have a wheelchair, so we have to source that. They don't have their medication.
"Hopefully, we're going to get hold of as much as we can and finally go and reunite them with he stuff they need tomorrow morning."
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