Former Strictly Come Dancing dancer Kristina Rihanoff was forced to apologise to fans on Sunday after posting several now-deleted tweets that many felt were "insensitive" and "Pro-Putin".
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The 44-year-old star faced backlash after posting a message in which she criticised Sky News for reporting that Russia had been banned from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest following the invasion of Ukraine.
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In a long statement shared on Twitter, Kristina clarified that she did so because she thought "there was far more important information on that day".
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"This, in any form says I was supporting what's happening at the moment between Russia and Ukraine," she added.
Read Kristina's statement in full
After explaining that her grandfather was from Ukraine and that she and husband Ben Cohen chose a Ukrainian name for their daughter, Milena, she added: "Seeing the news is breaking my heart as I have Russian friends who live in Ukraine and vice versa."
She continued: "I am not supporting Putin, war, invasion, lost lives and politics. I hate it as much as a human being possibly can."
Kristina then went on to reveal she was "deeply sorry" for offending anyone with her remarks and said she was "powerless doing anything to help anyone in both countries".
© Photo: Getty ImagesKristina is married to former rugby star Ben Cohen
Unfortunately for the mother-of-one, for many fans, her statement was "too little too late".
Many took to the comments to share their disappointment. "My child is booked on to one of your upcoming workshops. But your previous tweets referencing the invasion but not condemning the actions of the Russian government make me deeply uncomfortable," one wrote, whilst another added: "Interesting that you can't simply say you condemn the invasion..."
A third remarked: "Too little too late - damage and reputation done."
If you want to help the people of Ukraine amid the escalating Russian conflict, these are the charities in urgent need of donations: British Red Cross, International Medical Corps, UNICEF and CARE.
