The Real Reason Maks Chmerkovskiy Is Heading Back To Europe

Before he made it back home sound and safely, "Dancing With The Stars" alum Maksim "Maks" Chmerkovskiy shared gut-wrenching updates of the war in Ukraine. The television personality, who was born in Odessa, Ukraine and moved to the United States with his family back in 1994, per The New York Times, told his social media followers that hearing the sounds of bombing from above and the feeling of helplessness made him feel like he'll "never be the same." In the post, he further added, "This is stressful and I'm getting old feelings back, like I've done this before. This does feel like the way it was when and why we left in the 90s. Like my old PTSD I've finally fixed is coming back."

To make matters worse, Chmerkovskiy was arrested in Ukraine for breaking curfew, but only for a moment after the arresting officer recognized him because of his "DWTS" fame. That said, there's also been some criticism from both fans and critics alike, as some have called him a "coward," per the Daily Mail, for fleeing the war on a train to Poland that was packed with women and children. And while Chmerkovskiy did manage to return home to Los Angeles to reunite with his wife Peta Murgatroyd and their son Shai, he's not wasting any time to return back to his homeland for this reason.

Maksim "Maks" Chmerkovskiy is relieved to be back home with his loved ones — sharing an emotional embrace with wife Peta Murgatroyd upon returning to Los Angeles, per Just Jared — but it looks like he's headed back to Europe. While it doesn't appear as though he'll be carrying a weapon and fighting against the Russian military back in Kyiv, Chmerkovskiy hinted that he wants to go back to Poland to help with the humanitarian efforts at the border as over a million Ukrainians have now fled their country to seek refuge elsewhere. 

"I spent the last couple of days with survivor's remorse ... and I'm currently working on an opportunity to go back," Chmerkovskiy told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Probably sometime next week I'm going to go back to Poland and join the efforts on the ground [and] sort of justify my safe out that way." Chmerkovskiy, who was in the country to work on a few television projects, also explained his reason for leaving Ukraine in the first place, adding, "It wasn't really a decision to leave, it was more like I just got told that I have to go." In other words, it sounds like Chmerkovskiy left one thing behind in Ukraine that has significant importance to him: his heart for his homeland.