Maksim Chmerkovskiy Details Harrowing Escape From War-Torn Ukraine

On day two of the violence, Chmerkovskiy said on his Instagram Story that he felt it was too dangerous to try to leave Ukraine, adding, “I have a passport and a way out. A lot of people here do not.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has declared martial law in his country, which bars Ukrainian male citizens aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country.

On Feb. 28, Chmerkovskiy said in another video that amid the fighting, Ukrainian forces arrested him for breaking curfew. He recalled the experience on GMA.

“They’re like, ‘Passport.’ I pull out my American passport,” he said. “[The officer] starts speaking English with me. I’m like, ‘I speak Russian.’ Then I regretted saying that, I thought maybe I was wrong. But then, the guy next to him goes, ‘Oh, that’s the judge from Dancing With the Stars. That’s Maks. I know him. He’s from TV.’ He goes, ‘Get inside, right now.'”