Maks Chmerkovskiy Says He Feels 'Guilt' for Leaving Ukraine amid Russian Invasion: 'I'm Emotional'

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is sharing his story of leaving Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.

In his first on-camera interview, the former Dancing With the Stars pro, 42, appeared on Good Morning America Friday, where he opened up about how he feels "guilty" for leaving his home country while others are not able to.

"I feel guilty. I feel bad," Chmerkovskiy said during the early morning broadcast. "I feel ashamed. I feel upset."

"I'm still in a very much in that fight-or-flight [mode]," he later explained. "I'm a big boy, but I know for a fact that I'm going through something mentally ... because I get into these cry moments, I'm emotional, I can't control it."

"I cried from the airport, I felt embarrassed ... the entire ride back cause I was the only man on the train amongst all women and children," Chmerkovskiy added.

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Earlier this week, Chmerkovskiy safely returned home to Los Angeles, California, after his week-long mission to leave Ukraine.

The dancer was photographed at Los Angeles International Airport, where he gave his wife Peta Murgatroyd an emotional hug. (The couple, who wed in 2017, share 5-year-old son Shai.)

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"I just don't want to resent peace somewhere else because of what I just saw, that's the reality. I don't know really what to say right this second," the Ukrainian-born dancer told Entertainment Tonight when he arrived at the airport.

The specific details of how Chmerkovskiy got out of Ukraine are not yet known. Men in the age range of 18-60 had reportedly been prohibited from leaving the country under a mobilization order. Thousands of people have fled or tried to escape Ukraine amid warnings of a possible "refugee crisis."

RELATED VIDEO: Maks Chmerkovskiy Prepares to Leave Ukraine After He Says He Was Arrested

Russia's attack on Ukraine continues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades. Details of the fighting change by the day, but hundreds of civilians have already been reported dead or wounded, including children. More than a million Ukrainians have also fled, the United Nations says.

"You don't know where to go, where to run, who you have to call. This is just panic," Liliya Marynchak, a 45-year-old teacher in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, told PEOPLE of the moment her city was bombed — one of numerous accounts of bombardment by the Russians.

The invasion, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has drawn condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia. With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.

Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country.

Zelenskyy vowed not to bend. "Nobody is going to break us, we're strong, we're Ukrainians," he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, "Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness."

The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.