Maks Chmerkovskiy, 42, was in total dad mode while out with his five-year-old son Shai on Sunday March 13. The Dancing With The Stars pro sweetly had his son up on his shoulders as they headed out from a late lunch in Malibu. The dancer’s outing came almost two weeks after he escaped Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion. It looked like the father-son duo were enjoying the quality time together.
Maks was dressed for warm weather, sporting a black t-shirt and shorts, with a white sweatshirt tied around his waist. He completed his outfit with a pair of sunglasses and black Nike sneakers. His son had his long hair tied up in a bun, while he sported a gray sleeveless t-shirt and gray sweatpants.
The DWTS star told fans that he’d been in Ukraine shortly after Russian forces invaded the country on February 24. The dancer regularly gave fans updates on what he was experiencing in the country, before announcing that he was going to try to make his escape, which he did successfully on March 1. Maks announced that he’d first made it to Poland, and then he made his return to the U.S. the following day, where he was greeted by his wife Peta Murgatroyd at the airport.
After Maks made his return, he opened up about leaving the country in an interview with GMA. He opened up about getting arrested while he was still in Ukraine, and said that once he was recognized from DWTS, it helped him get out of the arrest shortly after.
In the same interview, Maks also got emotional speaking about all of the people still stuck in Ukraine amid the attacks from Russia, especially those who were stuck in the train station that he left from. “It’s horrible. I realized after we took off that all the people that didn’t get in have to now sleep right there in that train station,” he said. “It’s not heated. It’s just a giant building. It’s cold. There are kids everywhere. I’m dying inside because this is still very emotional stuff for me. There are kids everywhere. Babies everywhere. It’s negative, the temperature.”