Maks & Val Chmerkovskiy Mark the End of an Era

Getty Dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Valentin Chmerkovskiy

“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancers and brothers Maksim and Valentin Chmerkovskiy are marking the end of an era for Baranova27, the organization their father Aleksandr founded to help the people of Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion.

Here’s what you need to know and how you can still continue to help:


Baranova 27 Closed Its Doors to ‘Restructure’

In an Instagram announcement on July 25, Baranova27, which is named for the address in Ukraine where the Chmerkovskiy brothers grew up, shared with its supporters that it would soon be closing its doors to undergo a restructuring.

The announcement reads:

Baranova27 will soon be closing our Fort Lee warehouse and moving into a new phase of our organization. You have all been an integral part of our team, and we are excited for this next chapter.

We want to extend our gratitude to the incredible landlords who provided us with five months of prime real estate. We have been able to accomplish so much with your generosity!

This is not the end of Baranova27, but a new phase. As we close our doors to restructure, our work is just beginning with our Baranova27 Villages project, where Ukrainian families desperately need a safe place to shelter. We ask that you please continue to donate through our GoFundMe with a qualifiable tax-deductible gift.

Last donation collections must be dropped off to us by 8/1 to ship out that week. Please check out our Amazon wishlist to help us make our next shipment the best one yet!

The announcement ended by saying thank you and to “stay tuned” for further updates.


Maks & Val Have ‘Heavy Hearts’ About the Organization Temporarily Closing

As the final day got closer and closer, Maks and Val shared their thoughts on Instagram. Maks, who was stranded in Ukraine for over a week when the Russian invasion started, posted a video of a young boy just 3 years old helping pack boxes. He wrote in the caption that it has been so “incredible” to see “peoples’ desire to help” by “amplified by the willingness to actually do something about it!”

“I am so proud of everyone involved, starting with our fearless leader Aleksander Chmerkovskiy aka grandfather to my children :) who has narrated 149 of these videos, documenting him witnessing the amazing side of humanity and being driven to do even more because of it,” wrote Maks. “For the last 149 days I have consistently wished for this war to immediately end and rebuilding of Ukraine to begin. Just from what I saw at @baranova27 aid collection site, I know for a fact that there won’t be a shortage of people willing to help. Thank you to all involved in the last 149 days of our mission and please keep doing what you can to help.”

And on the final day, Val shared a video in his Instagram stories as the final shipping container was loaded up.

“It is day 159 at Baranova27 with some heavy hearts and feelings that it’s the last container that we’re sending from this particular address, 2060 Hudson St. It’s a lot of memories for this 159 days and my personal heart is full of emotions at this day 159. But this era kind of finished, new era begins. Stay tuned,” said Val.

If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine, the Baranova27 GoFundMe is still accepting donations. So far it has raised over $350,000 for the people of Ukraine.

“Dancing With the Stars” returns for its 31st season on Monday, September 19, on Disney Plus.

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