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Maksim Chmerkovskiy, 42, safely returned home last Wednesday, a week after he started documenting the Russia-Ukraine crisis on his Instagram account from Kyiv.
On March 2, Chmerkovskiy was spotted at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where he had an emotional reunion with his wife Peta Murgatroyd, 35. The couple shared a hug and a kiss before they walked out of the airport holding hands.
The dancer, who fled Ukraine on a train heading to Poland on Monday, reached Warsaw after a 23-hour-long ride. After going 36 hours without sleep, Chmerkovskiy boarded a Finnair flight to the United States on Tuesday.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy chose his iPhone instead of firearms
Chmerkovskiy, the Ukraine-born choreographer who documented his entire experience of being trapped in Kyiv amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis, was shooting for the country's World of Dance series as a judge.
While speaking to reporters at the airport, the Dancing With The Stars alum noted:
"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."
Chmerkovskiy also mentioned how he was asked to get a gun and learn how to use an AK-47 from YouTube videos. However, the star opted to use his iPhone instead of a firearm to document his experience and the ongoing war for the world to see.
Here's a live Instagram video Chmerkovskiy posted on Tuesday.
Giving shoutouts to neighboring countries who have been helping Ukraine amidst the war, Chmerkovskiy told reporters:
"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."
Maksim Chmerkovskiy concluded his statement by saying:
"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."
All that is known about Maksim Chmerkovskiy's wife, Peta Murgatroyd
Peta Murgatroyd is a New Zealand-born professional dancer and choreographer who is trained in ballet, contemporary, and Spanish dance. She started studying classical ballet back when she was four.
Murgatroyd, who trained under Madame Lubov Nikonorenko, former principal dancer of the Kirov Ballet, for 12 years, was a part of the Burn The Floor world tour in 2004. In 2009, she performed as the lead female dancer with Burn The Floor on Broadway.
That same year, she appeared in the Australian version of Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. Pairing with Donald Driver, Murgatroyd won the 14th season of Dancing With The Stars (American), which she joined in 2011.
Murgatroyd, who competed in 13 seasons of Dancing With The Stars, also won the 22nd season of the show with deaf model/actor Nyle DiMarco in 2016.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd met on Broadway in 2009. However, they started dating in 2012 only to call it quits 10 months later. The couple then rekindled their romance in January 2015.
In December of that same year, Chmerkovskiy popped the question after an onstage performance. The pair went on to welcome their son Shai in January 2017 and tied the knot later that year, in July.
