'Dancing With the Stars' Alum Maks Chmerkovskiy Returns to Help Ukrainian Refugees
Former Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is back in Europe after escaping Ukraine after Russia invaded his home country earlier this month. Chmerkovskiy, who has expressed guilt for escaping in recent interviews, is now helping Ukrainian refugees on the ground. Chmerkovskiy and his family also started the charity Baranova 27, named after the street he grew up on, to help refugees.
Chmerkovskiy, 42, spent about three weeks in Los Angeles with his wife Peta Murgatroyd and their 5-year-old son Shai before returning to Poland. "I enjoyed some of that Los Angeles weather, saw my family, saw my friends, you know, obviously, spent some time, and we've been working on tangible opportunities to help," Chmerkovskiy said in a lengthy Instagram Live video Monday, reports Page Six.
The pro dancer went on to say he hopes to keep using his "voice" to raise awareness for the war in Ukraine. "It didn't end or slow down; it got worse in Ukraine," Chmerkovskiy said. "The humanitarian crisis is getting worse, people are getting hurt worse, there are more people hurt, and there are more people affected."
When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Chmerkovskiy was in Kyiv. He spent several days trying to escape and chronicled his journey on Instagram. He finally reunited with Murgatroyd, who is also a DWTS pro, on March 3. Since then, he has given several interviews where he expressed "survivor's remorse." During a stop on Good Morning America, he admitted that his fame played a role in his escape.
"They're like, 'Passport.' I pull out my American passport. He starts speaking English with me. I'm like, 'I speak Russian.' Then I regretted saying that. I thought maybe it was wrong," he told GMA. "Then the guy next to him goes, 'Oh, that's the judge from Dancing With the Stars. That's Maks. I know him. He's from TV.' He goes, 'Get inside. Right now.'"
During a CNN interview on March 7, Chmerkovskiy said he was already working on getting back to Poland. "I spent the last couple of days with survivor's remorse," Chmerkovskiy said. "And I'm currently working on an opportunity to go back. Probably some time next week, I'm going to go back to Poland and joining efforts on the ground. Sort of want to justify my safe out that way."
Baranova 27 has already raised over $145,000 of its $350,000 goal. Chmerkovskiy's father, Alexandr Chmerkovskiy, launched the GoFundMe on March 10 to raise funds for the cost of sending aid to Ukraine. Chmerkovskiy's younger brother Val Chmerkovskiy also shared information about donating to the cause on his Instagram page.