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Maksim Chmerkovskiy returns to Poland to help Ukrainians

Karina Smirnoff, Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Posted at 6:44 PM, Mar 21, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-21 18:44:18-04

Maks Chmerkovskiy, who was a regular on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, returned to Poland after his escape from Ukraine.

Chmerkovskiy went live on Instagram from Warsaw. He contends the situation in Ukraine is getting worse.

"Humanitarian crisis is getting worse. People are getting hurt worse, there are more people hurt and there are more people affected," Chmerkovskiy said.

The professional dancer spoke about the charity he and his family started to help Ukrainian refugees.

He said the charity, Baranova27, has shipped over 100,000 pounds of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Poland. It's also raised more than $145,000.

Chmerkovskiy was in Kyiv when the conflict in Ukraine broke out. He was there filming "World of Dance UA," Deadline reported.

He eventually made it to Poland and was able to fly back home to his wife and child to Los Angeles.

Chmerkovskiy, who was born in Ukraine, moved to the U.S. as a teenager. He reportedly became an American citizen in 2019.