Maksim Chmerkovskiy has come home to his family.
The 42-year-old pro dancer is back on U.S. soil after fleeing Ukraine during the Russian attacks. Maksim arrived in Los Angeles, where he and his wife Peta Murgatroyd had an emotional reunion. The two shared a long embrace in the LAX terminal before heading out together.
Speaking to ET in the airport, the dancer was very much overcome with emotion, and he admitted:
“I just don’t want to resent peace somewhere else because of what I just saw. That’s the reality.
I don’t know really what to say right this second.”
He later on addressed reporters and photographers outside LAX, speaking about the ongoing attack in Ukraine amidst Russia’s invasion and assault on the nation’s cities:
“The reason why Ukraine is standing right now is because of the Ukranian people. And the fact that the entire world is helping.”
He spoke more about his own experience returning to US soil and expressed gratitude:
“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 town down to the Polish people.”
Maksim went on to say about the global impact of the ongoing conflict:
“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.”
