Two ballet dancers for the National Opera of Ukraine are trading in their ballet slippers to take up arms to fight for the Ukrainian military.

Principal dancer Oleksii Potiomkin joined up with the armed forces and has been sharing pictures of himself on Instagram wearing camouflage, according to Vanity Fair Italy and Pointe Magazine.

The story of Potiomkin fighting for Ukraine after Russia launched an attack on the country last week went viral when Ukrainian-American writer Natalia Antonova posted about him on Twitter.

The dude on the left is Oleksiy Potyomkin.

The dude on the right is also Oleksiy Potyomkin.

The ballet dancer has joined up, like many people from all walks of life in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/Jblg0HvEKy

— Natalia Antonova (@NataliaAntonova) March 3, 2022

According to Ukrainian journalist Tetiana Danylenko and Oleksandra Matviichuk, the head of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, ballerina Lesya Vorotnyk has also joined the military to fight the Russian troops.

Lesya Vorotnyk. Ballerina of the Kyiv National Opera. #StandWithUkraine#stoprussia pic.twitter.com/27u4yxQ918

— Tetiana Danylenko (@tdanylenko) March 2, 2022