Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Dancing with the Stars pro says he feels ‘guilty’ over fleeing Ukraine

Maksim Chmerkovskiy has set up a charity for refugees in Poland

Dancing with the Stars professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy has admitted that he feels “guilty” over fleeing Ukraine before the start of the conflict with Russia.

Chmerkovskiy had been seen leaving the country on a train to Poland and later rejoined his family in the US, but has since returned to the region to help refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Appearing on Good Morning America, Chmerkovskiy opened up about his mixed feelings about leaving Ukraine: “I feel guilty, I feel bad, I feel shame, I feel upset.”

He also addressed why he chose to return to Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, instead of stay in America: “I feel like this is my duty, I’m here to remind people that this is just getting worse.”

Chmerkovskiy admitted that leaving Ukraine on a train mostly full of women and children compelled him go back: “It’s just survival on that train to Warsaw, when I finally got back home and I finally saw Peta and we had that emotional moments, that’s when I realised I gotta go back.”

The professional dancer also admitted to being scarred by some of the things he has seen: “I’m dying inside because this is still very emotional stuff for me, there’s kids everywhere, babies everywhere – it’s negative temperature.”

Chmerkovskiy’s charity, Baranova 27, has been set up with the aim to help refugees escaping the ongoing conflict. Baranova 27 is working to provide food and shelter for those who manage to cross the border into Poland.

The UN claim nearly three million people have left Ukraine to claim asylum since the outbreak of war a month ago. It is estimated that the number of refugees could increase to over four million in the weeks ahead as Russia continues to shell cities across Ukraine.

Chmerkovskiy appeared on US reality show Dancing with the Stars from seasons two to 26.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.