‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy Fights Tears in Latest Update From Ukraine

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is sharing another update from Ukraine as he weathers the crisis in his home country. “WAR I’m tired. I’m stressed. I needed to rant,” the Dancing With the Stars alum captioned a video he shared from a spot where he is staying safe, thanking fans for their well-wishes and asking them to “please make some [noise] about this so the whole world starts screaming.”

Reassuring fans that he is the safest he can be, for now, Chmerkovskiy told fans he’s not far from the fighting. “I think everybody’s going through a lot of emotions,” he said. “I’m in the safest place I can find.” This video isn’t a “cry for help,” he continued, growing emotional. “I’m starting to not be able to just sort of keep my head,” the professional dancer explained. “I’m trying to stay focused and try to let my voice be heard.”

Chmerkovskiy begged fans to continue to spread the message that the fighting needs to come to an end. “I’m being very serious,” he added. “I’m sorry. I’m losing a little bit of my patience. I just want everybody to do something.” Even something like posting on social media can have an impact, he continued, before closing out his message saying he was “just ready to go home” and “hoping for a safe ending to everything.”

Chmerkovskiy’s wife, Peta Murgatroyd, reassured her husband in the comments, reminding him of the days to come with their 5-year-old son Shai. “I love you. You will be home soon I promise. Think about how many bbq’s we are doing to have. Then the fishing trips with shai,” she wrote with a smile and heart emoji. The Ukraine-born dancer has been sharing images and updates of the crisis in his home country over the past week.

“I know who this country is, what it represents, what it stands for. And it’s completely not what is being portrayed to the Russian people in order to justify this invasion,” he said Thursday. “I’m going to try and keep you guys updated and show you what it’s really like, but the reality is it’s exactly what it looks like on TV,” he said. 

That same day, Murgatroyd asked her followers to pray for her husband as he remains stuck in Ukraine. “I don’t usually ask these things from my social media network, however today is extremely hard and the next few will be even harder,” she wrote. “My pain is overwhelming and I’m struggling, but you sending your positive light and love to him would mean the world to me. Truly, I wish for nothing more.”