‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Maks Chmerkovskiy Reunites With Wife Peta Murgatroyd in Emotional Video After Return From Ukraine

Maksim Chmerkovskiy has been reunited with wife Peta Murgatroyd in the U.S., having fled Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. The Dancing With the Stars pro, 42, landed at LAX in Los Angeles Wednesday, where he had an emotional reunion with his wife that was captured on film by Entertainment Tonight. The couple held each other tight for close to a minute before leaving the terminal together, with Chmerkovskiy pulling Murgatroyd back in for a kiss as they exited.

Chmerkovskiy then addressed press outside of the airport. “The reason why Ukraine is standing right now is because of the Ukrainian people,” Chmerkovskiy said. “And the fact that the entire world is helping.” Chmerkovskiy gave a “huge shout out” to Poland and neighboring countries after making his way from Ukraine into Poland before flying back to the U.S. “The way I was treated through the whole process of leaving into Poland, I’ve just got to bow down to the Polish people,” he continued.

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In regards to the conflict, the Ukraine native urged, “If we don’t get involved, this thing is going to go everywhere else. I think that in 2022, following this action, we have to completely rethink the way we do things as a planet. There can never again be one person who can do something like this ever again. We have to have checks and balances globally, not just one country at a time.”

The pro dancer began documenting his experience in Ukraine when Russia invaded last month. “I want to go back home and I realize that I have the way to, I realize that I have a different passport and my family is far away,” he said in a video shared to Instagram. “I am not at this point someone who is pleading for someone else’s safety from a far distance, from a safe distance. I’m somebody who’s about to go into a bomb shelter because s-t’s going down.”

“I will never be the same,” he continued. “This is stressful and I’m getting old feelings back, like I’ve done this before. This does feel like the way it was when and why we left in the ’90s. Like my old PTSD I’ve finally fixed is coming back.” Chmerkovskiy revealed shortly after that he was beginning to make his way out of Ukraine soon after being arrested in Kyiv. Monday, after arriving in Poland, Chmerkovskiy was able to board a plane back to the U.S.