The 43-year-old ballroom dancer, who is married to Polish-born fellow former Strictly pro Ola Jordan, took to Twitter to air his grievances, saying he was ‘very disappointed’ to have seen a lot of silence on the matter from the community.
The 2019 Dancing On Ice champion wrote: ‘I don’t see many of the Russian dancers I know and have even shared the Strictly dance floor with them [sic] openly speaking out about the war against Ukraine.
‘But [they] are still promoting themselves on social media – very disappointed 😢’
For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live
He added: ‘They know who they are – not 1 post about it 🤷🏼♂️’
Current Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas posted on Instagram following the outbreak of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, pleading for ‘sensitivity’ from dancers towards the current events in the county, and asking them to ‘show some respect’ by avoiding promoting themselves.
‘Dancers please, just for a few days show some sensitivity towards the suffering in Ukraine…’ she penned. ‘You don’t need to promote yourselves, your shows, competitions and teaching every single day…
‘Your colleagues, students, competitors and their families are in the middle of a shocking war and need your support.. YOUR business can wait.’
‘Show some respect,’ she added, ‘We are one family..’
As well as fighting in and around the capital Kyiv, conflict has continued across several other Ukranian cities, including the area around Kharkiv, where husband Evgenij’s parents live.
Strictly Come Dancing is also currently home to pro dancers Nadiya Bychkova and Nikita Kuzmin, who were born in Ukraine.
Both of them have posted about the events occurring in their country, with Nikita sharing a string of articles, pictures, video clips, donation links and information about the current crisis.
On Saturday, he thanked followers for donating and added: ‘Keep sharing information about the severity of the INVASION so we can get more help. Don’t stay silent – talk, discuss, post, donate, give accommodation, help with transport.
‘This is not only Ukraine’s fight. This is for the whole world. It’s a fight for peace, for freedom.’
Russian-born Katya Jones, who partnered Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty in last year’s series, broke her silence on the conflict in the early hours of Sunday morning with an Instagram Story in which she said she was ‘praying for peace and love in the world’.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Dancing With The Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy calls out former dance partner Kirstie Alley’s post about Russian invasion of Ukraine
MORE : Saturday Night Live viewers moved to tears over tribute to Ukraine amid Russia strikes: ‘So beautifully haunting’