Everton star Mykolenko tells Russia's Dzyuba to "remain silent" in X-rated rant

Everton defender Vitaliy Mykolenko has branded Artem Dzyuba a "b****" in a withering message to the Zenit Saint Petersburg forward.

Mykolenko, a Ukraine international, accused Russia captain Dzyuba and his "s***head teammates" of "remaining silent" in the wake of Vladimir Putin's invasion of his homeland.

Dzyuba has not posted on social media since President Putin ordered his forces into neighbouring Ukraine in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

His most recent post was a picture of a lion draped in the colours of Zenit to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day, a national holiday observed on 23 February.

Meanwhile, Mykolenko has watched on as his native Ukraine is ravaged by missile strikes and Russian troops close in on the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for safety.

Do Russian footballers need to speak out against Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine? Have your say in the comments...

In an impassioned Instagram story, the Toffees left-back tagged Dzyuba and wrote: "Whilst you remain silent b**** along with your s***head football teammates, peaceful civilians are being killed in Ukraine.

"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."

Mykolenko is one of multiple Ukrainian stars in the Premier League and shared a moving embrace with compatriot Oleksandr Zinechnko ahead of Saturday evening's fixture against Manchester City.

The Everton ace subsequently shared a video showing numerous Ukrainian footballers calling for fans to "oppose Russian propaganda".

"We appeal to the football community," the video states. "To everyone who is united in the game of football, every fan, every player, every coach, every manager, everyone who understands and loves football.

"We love football We appeal to you. To explain to the whole world and to show to every inhabitant on planet earth that under the cover of special operation Russian troops are waging an open war on Ukraine.

"They are bombarding residential areas with missiles and are bombing civilians. We call everyone who hears us to resist this war to stop the destruction and bloodshed.

"We ask all world football community to oppose Russian propaganda To show the truth and tell the truth about this war in Ukraine by all possible resources. We thank everyone who has already done this and everyone who will support us.

"No to War. Glory To Ukraine. Glory To the Heroes."

Zinchenko is among those to feature in the video while West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko was also involved.

Yarmolenko has been given time off by the Irons and it remains to be seen whether he will be available to face Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday.