British dancer Xander Parish has chosen to leave Russia, and the Mariinsky Ballet where he has danced for over a decade, until "peace comes" to Ukraine.
Parish made the announcement Sunday on Instagram amid ongoing tension from the Russia-Ukraine war.
"Dear friends & followers, tonight I was supposed to be performing Giselle at the Mariinsky Theatre but instead, due to the awful crisis I have taken the difficult decision to leave Russia, at least until peace comes," Parish wrote.
"My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, near and far, including @kate_chebykina pictured with me here in @jivoy_dance’s 'I’m not Scared.' I am so grateful to the Mariinsky Theatre who, thanks to Yuri Fateev, took me in 12 years ago and gave me a career in classical ballet I could only have dreamed about."
Parish went on to pray for peace in the region while expressing gratitude to the Russian people who have demonstrated kindness to him.
"I am grateful to the wonderful ordinary Russian people, the majority of whom have treated me with such kindness," he continued. "I pray that peace will come and the wounds will be healed by God’s grace. Thank you to all of you who have been sending me messages over the past few days and sorry for not having had the time to reply."
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since then, more than 406 civilians have been killed, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement on Monday, according to CNN. A further 801 civilians have been injured, OHCHR said, adding that the real figures are likely "considerably higher."
The United Nations meanwhile reported that more than 2 million people have now fled Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, according to the BBC. Refugees are crossing to neighboring countries to the west, such as Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Moldova, with a small number going to Russia and Belarus, the outlet noted.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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