Gleb Savchenko is seeking emergency custody of his eldest daughter after accusing his ex-wife of keeping their children in Hong Kong without permission.
Gleb Savchenko has accused his ex-wife of abducting their children.
The Dancing with the Stars professional – who has Olivia, 15, and Zlata, eight, with Elena Samodanova – has filed a request for an emergency child custody order for his eldest child and accused his former spouse of keeping his children in Hong Kong since 2023.
According to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on 13 July and obtained by E! News, Glen has claimed Elena – who he was married to from 2006 to 2021 – broke a Post-Judgement Agreement they had reached in June 2023, which had stated their daughters could “temporarily” live with her in Hong Kong for “one year”.
But instead of bringing the girls back to the US by June 2024, the dancer alleged his ex-wife has stayed out there, “obtained permanent Hong Kong residency, enrolled the children in an expensive private school, got the children a cat, became engaged, and had another child with her fiancé.”
He claimed Elena – who gave birth to a baby girl, her first child with Vladislav Kvartin, in December – has “essentially established her life with her fiancé and our children, in Hong Kong, without my permission that they remain with her.”
He added: “This has functionally forced me to travel to Hong Kong each year to visit my children, which I have consistently done despite Elena’s efforts taken to drastically limit my access to our daughters.”
Olivia is currently staying with her father in Los Angeles, and he has argued she will “suffer irreparable harm” if she can’t stay with him because she has “expressed her strong desire” to remain in California and wants to attend Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks when the new school year begins in August.
The 42-year-old dancer also accused his ex-wife of taking their daughters to Russia and Vietnam “without [his] permission”, stressing particular concern about them travelling to Moscow amid his birth country’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
Gleb is concerned sending Olivia back to Hong Kong could “result in an international wrongful retention/abduction of Olivia.”
He has asked the court for “temporary emergency sole legal and physical custody” of Olivia with no visitation from her mother pending a court hearing, along with an order that Elena “be restrained from removing” the teenager from the US.
Elena has hit back at Gleb’s claim and insisted Olivia “thrives” in Hong Kong.
She told TMZ: “The statement from Mr. Savchenko’s attorney misrepresents our family’s reality.
“As Olivia’s primary caregiver, I have raised her every day while Gleb worked full-time on DWTS. Today, Olivia thrives in Hong Kong. She attends a top school and is an elite ballroom dancer.
“Gleb’s actions directly jeopardise her future, education, and athletic progress. California lacks jurisdiction over our daughter.
“Hong Kong is Olivia’s permanent home and legal residency. Ironically, Gleb himself holds a Permanent Resident card there.”
Elena also alleged her daughter “was scheduled to return to Hong Kong on June 5th, but her father wrongfully cancelled her ticket without my permission.”
She added: “This is a wrongful international retention.”
The 43 year old further accused Gleb – who had alleged Olivia was “able to travel to California to visit” him from June to July – of making a “rushed attempt to bypass proper laws”.
She has asked the court “to halt temporary orders and grant a continuance so my counsel can present Olivia’s permanent records through the correct legal channels.”
The former couple must attend custody mediation on 5 August ahead of a formal court hearing later that month.
Gleb Savchenko accuses ex-wife of abduction
