Gleb Savchenko filed an emergency order with the court in Los Angeles to change his custody arrangement with ex-wife Elena Samodanova. The Dancing with the Stars pro shares two daughters, Olivia, 15, and Zlata, 9, with Samodanova, 43.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 14, Savchenko’s legal team told Samodanova, 43, that they would be filing an ex parte application for emergency orders to modify the existing child custody and visitation orders so that the Dancing With the Stars pro is “granted temporary sole legal and sole physical custody of [daughter] Olivia, in order for her to remain in California in her father’s care as she desires, and for permission to enroll Olivia into high school in Los Angeles County, California as she has expressed she wants.”
In court documents filed on Tuesday, the reality star claimed that the former DWTS couple agreed on June 29, 2023 that his ex would move with the children temporarily to China for one year so Samodanova could work on a project but would return to the U.S. the following June 30, 2024.
“Elena has wrongfully kept our children in Hong Kong for several years,” he claimed. “[She] failed and refused to return the children to the United States as she had agreed in writing to do. Instead, she has remained in Hong Kong, 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. Elena has essentially established her life with her fiancé and our children, in Hong Kong, without my permission that they remain with her in Hong Kong.”
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Per the court documents, Savchenko claimed his request is in the best interest of the kids, citing an alleged “wrongful retention of [Olivia and Zlata] by [Elena], in Hong Kong, for the last two years.”
Samodanova, 43, told Savchenko’s attorney that she “opposes all requests being made by your client. I do not consent to a modification of current orders, a change of custody or the enrollment of our daughter Olivia in a California school,” per the court documents.
In WhatsApp messages between Samodanova and Savchenko’s legal team, she claims that Hong Kong is their daughter’s “clear habitual residence.”
“Olivia was born in Hong Kong and has lived there for more than nine years in total, including the last three consecutive years residing full-time with me,” she wrote.
Samodanova claimed that Savchenko’s alleged “cancellation of [Olivia’s] return ticket constitutes an unauthorized, wrongful retention of the child.”
In the docs, Savchenko, 42, also took issue with Samodanova allegedly taking their youngest daughter Zlata, 9, to Russia without his permission.
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“After [Elena] received ex parte notice in this matter, her phone pinged in Moscow, indicating that she had travelled to Moscow and took our youngest daughter, Zlata, with her. I learned from text messages sent to our daughter, Olivia, that Zlata was with [her mother] in Russia,” Savchenko said in a declaration. “[She] also admitted on WhatsApp, to the law office I retained, that she went to Moscow yesterday, for a funeral. I unequivocally state, I did not consent to or even know that Elena was going to Moscow yesterday and would not have agreed for our daughter, Zlata, to accompany her in the war torn country because of the obvious dangers. However, as she has done in the past, Elena simply does whatever she wants as though I have no voice, opinion or say in this matter with respect to our daughters.”
Savchenko stated in court documents that he instituted a “Hague Petition,” or an international child abduction petition, for the return of Zlata.
In a statement to Us, Savchenko’s attorney Mark H. Karney said he is a specialist who has dealt with many international Hague matters.
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“When Mr. Savchenko came to me in pain over missing his daughters so much, I knew I had to help. This case is very important to me,” he said. “It is about a dad, who simply loves his daughters and wants to be with them. We are not looking to remove the mother from the children’s lives. But the children belong in California where their father is located and has been living since the divorce and where they were supposed to be residing since 2024, after Elena’s agreed-upon one year in Hong Kong, ended.”
Samodanova, however, plans to fight against Savchenko’s claims.
“The statement from Mr. Savchenko’s attorney completely misrepresents our family’s reality. As Olivia’s primary caregiver, I have raised her every single day while Gleb worked full-time on DWTS,” Samodanova shared in a statement to Us on Wednesday, July 15. “Today, Olivia is thriving in Hong Kong — she attends a top school and is an elite ballroom dancer. Gleb’s actions directly jeopardize her future, her education, and her athletic progress.”
The statement continued, “Furthermore, 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. Olivia was scheduled to return to Hong Kong on June 5th, but her father wrongfully canceled her ticket without my permission. This is a case of wrongful international retention. His emergency filing is a rushed attempt to bypass proper laws. I am asking the court to halt temporary orders and grant a continuance so my counsel can present Olivia’s permanent records through the correct legal channels.”
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In his plea to the court, Savchenko claimed, “Our daughters are my life. I currently have Olivia in my care, but Zlata is currently in Hong Kong with her mother. I miss her immensely. I am reasonably concerned that unless this court acts on an emergency basis, [Elena] will remove our minor child [Olivia] from California and return to Hong Kong against the child’s wishes and without any regard for her best interests.”
Savchenko also claimed that every attempt he’s made to see his children over the last three years have been “solely based 100 percent on Elena’s terms.”
“She has dictated when, where and how I get to see our daughters,” he alleged. “Elena had complete control over whether I ever saw our children or not and it was based on her monetary and scheduling terms, without my input. However, I did whatever it took to see our children as regularly as possible because I was constantly afraid to be cut off from them by Elena.”
Samodanova first filed for divorce from Savchenko in December 2022 after 14 years of marriage. In December 2025, she welcomed a baby with Vlad Kvartin.
A hearing on Savchenko’s request is scheduled for August 18.
