Maksim Chmerkovskiy talks returning to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees
"It's things like this that change me as a person," Chmerkovskiy told "GMA."
Maksim Chmerkovskiy has found a way to help the people of Ukraine.
Just weeks ago, after having returned safely to the U.S. and reuniting with his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, and their 5-year-old son, Shai, the former "Dancing With the Stars" pro told "Good Morning America" he had mixed feelings about having escaped the violence in his home country.
"I feel guilty. I feel bad. I feel shame. I feel upset," Chmerkovskiy said at the time.
Now, he and his family have harnessed the power of social media, teaming up with Bethenny Frankel's BStrong and the Global Empowerment Mission, to get much-needed supplies to refugees and those still in Ukraine.
"I feel like this is my duty," he told Eva Pilgrim in an exclusive new interview with "GMA." "I'm here to remind people that this is just getting worse."
Chmerkovskiy is currently in Poland setting up housing for refugees and coordinating supplies in a project he's calling Baranova 27, named after his childhood home in Odesa.
While he's abroad, his brother, "DWTS" pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy, and their father, Sasha, are in Fort Lee, New Jersey, helping volunteers. So far they say they've shipped nearly 280,000 pounds of emergency goods to those in need.
As for why went back to help, Chmerkovskiy said it was something he realized he had to do as soon as he arrived in the U.S. and reunited with Murgatroyd and Shai.
"When I finally came back home and finally saw Peta and we had that emotional moment, that's when I realized I've got to go back," he said. "I want opportunities to prove to my son, me as a man, I want him to be proud of me and maybe this is the opportunity to show exactly how to do it."
Chmerkovskiy added, "I'm super grateful. It's things like this that change me as a person."
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