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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Connie Rusk

Strictly's Nadiya Bychkova shares heartache as her dad is still stranded in Ukraine

Strictly's Nadiya Bychkova has shared her heartache as she revealed her father and grandparents are still stranded in Ukraine as she appeared on This Morning on Thursday.

The Ukrainian-Slovenian professional dancer, 32, said she was speaking to her family everyday and described Russia's invasion as 'very sad'.

Appearing alongside fellow Strictly pro Graziano Di Prima, Nadiya told Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary: "My dad couldn’t get out there because of his age, he's too young to leave the country because of the situation. [And] my grandparents are too old.

"I’m trying to keep them safe. Some of my friends got the chance to get somewhere in Europe, so they’re safe.

Strictly's Nadiya Bychkova has shared her heartache as she revealed her father and grandparents are still stranded in Ukraine as she appeared on This Morning on Thursday (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The Ukrainian-Slovenian professional dancer, 32, said she was speaking to her family everyday and described Russia's invasion as 'very sad' (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

"But I’m trying to check up on them, every day we’re in contact. I just hope they solve it as soon as possible."

Men aged between 18 to 60 are unable to leave the country in case they are needed to fight.

Nadiya is not the only Strictly star with family in Ukraine. Late last month Nikita Kuzmin, who joined the show last year, detailed his grandmother’s journey out of the country.

Nadiya appeared on the show alongside fellow Strictly pro Graziano Di Prima (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

The professional dancer, 24, who was partnered with Tilly Ramsay on the last series of the BBC One show, was born and raised in Ukraine before moving to Italy aged nine.

Speaking about his grandmother on The One Show, he said: "She managed to escape from Kyiv. We didn’t know if she would manage on the way from Kyiv to Poland, the streets in which the bus passes you don’t know if the Russian troops are going to shoot the bus and we were all the time anxious, there were two strike points.

"On the border she had to walk five-miles, she hadn’t walked until last year she had an operation, this is when your instincts kick in and she managed to do all of it and she surprised us.

"She’s just so brave and I just love her so much."

Nadiya is not the only Strictly star with family in Ukraine. Late last month Nikita Kuzmin, who joined the show last year, detailed his grandmother’s journey out of the country (@nikita__kuzmin/Instagram)
Speaking about his grandmother on The One Show, he said: "She managed to escape from Kyiv" (DIGITAL/EROTEME.CO.UK)

The dancer revealed his grandmother arrived 13 hours ahead of schedule but said it was 'heart-breaking' to see other families at the railway station who were suffering.

Nikita and his family moved from Ukraine to Italy to support his sister’s dancing career, which prompted his own career to flourish.

He said all his childhood friends, people he has trained with and competed against "are all right now defending the country from invasion".

"It is exactly when it hits you home when you start to see the streets in which you have been walking which you grew up, where all your childhood was, right now being destroyed, bombed and it is honestly just heart-breaking and I’m just praying for the best.

"I still have my grandparents in Kyiv, my aunt, for the moment they are safe but obviously we are just trying to call them everyday and hope that they answer.

"Every day you just hope for the best," he added.

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