Maksim Chmerkovskiy returns to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees
Maksim Chmerkovskiy returned to Poland to aid Ukrainian refugees after feeling “survivor’s remorse” over his escape from the war-torn region.
“I spent some time at home,” the “Dancing With the Stars” alum, 42, began Sunday in a lengthy video posted to his Instagram from Warsaw.
“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 shared that he and his family launched a charity called Baranova 27 — named after the street where he grew up in Ukraine — and will be sharing on Instagram how the funds will be distributed among refugees.
He said he wants to continue using the “voice” he got from speaking out early on in the war with Russia.
“It didn’t end or slow down; it got worse in Ukraine,” Chmerkovskiy explained.
“The humanitarian crisis is getting worse, people are getting hurt worse, there are more people hurt, and there are more people affected.”
In February, the TV judge found himself trapped in Kyiv after he flew back to Ukraine from the US to film the dance competition show “World of Dance.”
While he figured out a way to leave the country safely, Chmerkovskiy began posting updates to social media about the Russian invasion.
On March 2, the father of one finally landed in LA after an arduous journey that included a “traumatizing” train ride from Ukraine to Poland.
He reunited with his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, at the Los Angeles International Airport and told reporters at the time, “Huge shout-out to Poland, huge shout-out to neighboring countries. The way I was treated through the whole process of leaving into Poland, I’ve just got to bow down to the Polish people.”
Chmerkovskiy then did several interviews in which he expressed guilt for being able to escape.
“I feel guilty. I feel guilty. I feel bad,” he said on “Good Morning America.” “I feel shamed. I feel upset.”
The dance pro also told CNN, “I felt really bad going. When I got to the train station, I realized it was all women and children, and then I’m literally too big and I’m taking up space.”
He concluded, “I spent a couple of the last days with survivor’s remorse, I believe that’s what it’s called, and currently working on an opportunity to go back, so hopefully sometime next week I’ll go back to Poland and join efforts on the ground, and sort of justify my safe out that way.”
On Sunday, Murgatroyd, 35, posted a photo on her Instagram Story of Chmerkovskiy and their 5-year-old son, Shai, and captioned it, “Missing you already.”
