Vitaliy Mykolenko has launched a blistering attack on the Russian national team for their silence since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday in what it called a special operation to demilitarise and ‘denazify’ the country – a justification dismissed by Kyiv and the West as propaganda.
The Premier League showed their support for Ukraine at the weekend, with Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko – who among their team-mates walked out with Ukraine flags draped around them – embraced prior to Saturday’s Premier League match between Everton and Manchester City.
But now just like his fellow Ukrainian left-back Zinchenko – who launched an attack on Putin last week on Instagram – Mykolenko has now spoken out against his Russian counterparts.
In a post on Instagram, the 22-year-old slammed Russia captain Artem Dzyuba and his ‘s***head team-mates’ for not speaking out against Putin’s invasion, claiming they will be ‘locked away in a dungeon for the rest of your life’.
‘Whilst you remain silent b**** along with your s***head football team-mates, peaceful civilians are being killed in Ukraine,’ Mykolenko – who joined Everton in January from Dynamo Kyiv – posted.
‘You will be locked in your dungeon for the rest of your life and most importantly the lives of your kids. And I’m glad.’
It comes after Dzyuba and his men were kicked out of the Qatar World Cup by FIFA, with Poland given a bye to a play-off final against Sweden or Czech Republic later this month.
Vitaliy Mykolenko has criticised the Russian national team for their silence since the invasion of Ukraine
In a post on Instagram, the 22-year-old slammed Russia captain Artem Dzyuba as a ‘silent b****’
The Everton left-back also called out his ‘s***head team-mates’ for not speaking out on Ukraine
Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko embraced prior to Manchester City’s win at Everton
FIFA had appeared reluctant to expel Russia from the World Cup given president Gianni Infantino’s close links to Vladimir Putin but on Sunday they made it clear that they would be guided by the IOC — and that the sporting world should be united in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Zinchenko and Mykolenko are among a number of Ukrainian footballers to have united in a passionate video plea to urge fans, players and coaches to ‘stop the destruction and bloodshed’ in their homeland following Russia’s devastating invasion.
The players, also including West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko, have filmed themselves speaking into the camera to deliver a message they hope will bring about the end of the war.
The onslaught in eastern Europe has now entered its sixth day of brutal fighting, with thousands feared dead as Russian forces look to surround the capital city of Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Zinchenko last week uploaded a photo of Putin captioned: ‘I hope you die the most painful suffering death, creature,’ as Russia launched a full-scale invasion on his homeland.
It was then alleged that Zinchenko’s swiftly deleted post had disappeared from Instagram without his knowledge.
Zinchenko then joined a vigil outside Manchester’s Central Library on Thursday evening, who was visibly upset on the day and two days later when he was seen shedding tears before kick-off at Goodison Park.
A host of Ukrainian footballers have issued a heartfelt plea to stop the war in their homeland
FIFA appeared reluctant to expel Russia from the World Cup given president Gianni Infantino’s close links to Vladimir Putin (above), but they did so on Monday
Zinchenko also joined a vigil outside Manchester’s Central Library on Thursday evening
But FIFA’s latest move is just one of many in the sporting world which has seen Russia cast into the sporting wilderness, with their athletes and national teams barred from international competitions with immediate effect.
UEFA are almost certain to kick Russia out of the women’s Euros in England this summer, when they are due to play group matches against Holland, Switzerland and Sweden and could have faced England in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile in the Europa League, Spartak Moscow were removed with German side RB Leipzig advancing to the quarter-finals as a result.
UEFA also terminated a sponsorship deal worth £33.5million a year with Russian energy company Gazprom.
The IOC recommended similar bans be introduced by all sports, with the possible exception of the Winter Paralympics due to the proximity of the Games, which begin in Beijing on Friday.
Russian domestic sport and leagues were permitted to continue.
In Formula One, Nikita Mazepin’s future is in doubt as bosses prepare to meet today to discuss banning the 22-year-old, who is the son of a billionaire oligarch with close links to Russian president Putin.
Meanwhile, on day six of Russia’s invasion, dozens of diplomats from around the world walked out during a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a Geneva disarmament conference in protest against Moscow’s actions.
Diplomats from countries including Britain, United States and France stood up and filed out of the room when Lavrov’s pre-recorded video message to the U.N. Human Rights Council began to play.
During his speech, the foreign minister blamed Ukraine for the war and claimed Kyiv has been seeking to acquire nuclear weapons – a ‘real danger’ that required a Russian response.
Oleksandr Zinchenko says he hopes Vladimir Putin suffers the ‘most painful suffering death’ in a post that Instagram have since taken down, according to the Manchester City defender
Diplomats from countries including Britain, United States and France stood up and filed out of the room when Lavrov’s pre-recorded video message to the U.N. Human Rights Council began to play
