DWTS’s Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s wife asks fans to ‘pray’ for his safe return from Ukraine

‘Please pray for my husband Maks’

Dancing With The Stars contestant Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s wife, Peta Murgatroyd, has asked fans to “pray” for his safe return from Ukraine.

Murgatroyd, who is also a former DWTS dancer, shared her thoughts on social media on Friday (25 February), a day after after 42-year-old Chmerkovskiy posted a video from Ukraine.

In the video, Chmerkovskiy can be seen standing on a balcony, as military sirens from the streets can be heard in the background.

He said that while “he’s not a social media guy at times,” he wanted to show that he was in Kiev and how he was feeling there.

“Not that no one saw this coming, but everybody was hoping that the finality of this situation would be averted, that there wasn’t going to be these kind of aggressive measures,” he said in a clip, about the unfolding of the Russian invasion.

In the caption, he not only emphasised that he stands with Ukraine, but he said that “WAR is NEVER an answer” and that “there’s ALWAYS another way”.

Murgatroyd also showed support for Ukraine, writing: “Please pray for my husband Maks. I don’t usually ask these things from my social media network, however, today is extremely hard and the next few days will be even harder.”

“Please pray for Ukraine and the innocent civilians [whose] lives are being greatly uprooted. I grew to love this country the couple of times I visited and they’re in an unfathomable situation,” she added.

Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd have been married since 2017. They have a five-year-old son, Shai.

On 24 February, Russia launched attacks on Ukraine. In a televised address, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed that this was being done to “protect civilians in eastern Ukraine”. He also said that his goal of this invasion wasn’t to take over Ukraine but it was to “demilitarise it”.

In the most recent update from Ukraine, explosions have been heard in Kiev in the early hours of Friday (25 February), with a Ukrainian official saying the the attack on the capital has “resumed” with cruise or ballistic missiles.

Ukraine’s military said Russia has already moved more than 60 battalion tactical groups across the border – each with roughly 700-900 troops.

International celebrities including Cardi B, Stephen King, Piers Morgan and Annie Lennox have condemned Putin’s actions.

The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean has also responded after fans said they believed a 30-year-old episode had “predicted” the crisis.

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