Maksim Chmerkovskiy was trapped in Ukraine when Russia invaded the country and hid out with the citizens when the attacks commenced.
After almost a week of keeping fans updated with Instagram videos, a chance to leave opened and Ukrainian officials ordered Maksim to escape the country, being that he is an American citizen.
However, Maksim said that he suffered from survivor’s guilt and wanted to offer something to help Ukrainians fleeing the country to Poland.
He returned for a philanthropic trip to Poland and helped set up an opportunity for those escaping to have food, shelter, and more.
Now, he is back home in the United States again.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy returns home to his wife and son
After his trip back to Poland to help set up some organizations to deliver aid to refugees arriving from Ukraine, Maksim is back home with his family.
Maksim’s wife Peta Murgatroyd celebrated his return with a video of him and his son spending some time together.
“Thank God Papa is home…now my back can heal,” Peta joked as Maksim held their son. “@maksimc #MumIsTakingABreak.”
This has been a tough time for Maksim, but his wife has suffered through it as well.
When Maksim was in Ukraine, Peta sat at home worried that her husband could die at any moment as the bombings closed in on the capital city where he was in hiding.
After he returned home, it wasn’t long before he headed back to Poland to set up his charitable organizations for refugees. Through this time, Peta played the role of a single mother.
Now, Maksim is back home, and fans hope that he can finally get back to a normal life again with his family.
Maksim helping refugees in Poland
When Maksim returned to Poland, he set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the refugees.
Maksim introduced fellow dancer Jakub Rybicki to his fans. This man has delivered a lot of aid, picking people up at the border and finding a place for them to stay.
Rybicki has picked up and placed over 200 people with another 1,000 planned at the time that Maksim worked with him.
Aleksandr “Sasha” Chmerkovskiy, the father of Val and Maksim from Dancing with the Stars, set up a donation effort and over 130,000 pounds of medical, hygiene, and baby supplies were shipped to Ukraine to help the people there.
Dancing with the Stars is on hiatus. The dancing reality competition series should return to ABC in late 2022.