Maks Chmerkovskiy On His Fight To Help Ukrainian Refugees
Maks Chmerkovskiy isn’t returning to Dancing With The Stars anytime soon. However, he still has plenty of projects to fill his days. After the Russian invasion in his native country of Ukraine, Maks decided it was time to take action.
Many DWTS fans remember how Maks had to find a way to escape from the country during the invasion, leaving his family in Los Angeles feeling utterly helpless. Now, he’s committed to helping other Ukrainian families in need. Keep reading to see how he’s continuing to fight for refugees.
Maks Chmerkovskiy narrowly escaped from Ukraine with his life
At the beginning of the year, Maks Chmerkovskiy was working on the Ukrainian version of Dancing With The Stars. But then the Russians invaded and he needed to find a way out. The dancer has been a United States citizen for decades and his family is based in Los Angeles. He was not obligated to join the military but still wanted to spread the word about the attacks. Many fans recall how he documented his escape on Instagram live.
“When this whole thing happened. I wasn’t, you know, trying to portray something or, you know, I had an agenda to social media gather or whatever it is,” the dancer told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I was just little bit like, you know, there’s no other way for me to say just to say … I’m terrified. You know, I’m … I want to go home, you know, this is insane. What are we doing?”
At one point, authorities even arrested the 42-year-old after suspecting he was spying for the Russians.
“Somebody grabbed me by the hand, and they suddenly — they pulled me into the building. And I was sort of under arrest because I wasn’t able to present documentation right away,” Maks continued.. “I realized that it wasn’t without a purpose. It was like they told me that last night, right underneath the hotel where I was, they found they located like a Russian spy cell … And so that’s why, the next morning, everything was so heightened.”
Once Maks made it safely back to the United States, he knew he had to help.
The former DWTS pro is using his platform to make a difference
“We found out that there was this gentleman, this artist who, because of what he has gone through himself in Iran and through revolution and being imprisoned for his artistic views and all of that, he is now reaching out and saying, ‘Look, this is what I want to do to help out Ukraine because I understand,” Maks told Fox News Digital.
Stay tuned for the latest information on Maks Chmerkovskiy and his family. The full DWTS cast list comes out tomorrow morning on Good Morning America, so check back and see who made the cut. Without a doubt, Maks will cheer on his wife and brother from home while continuing his nonprofit work.
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