JAMES Jordan has urged Russian dancers – including those who appear on Strictly Come Dancing – to speak out in defence of Ukraine.
The former BBC show star, 43, spoke out after Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the country earlier this week.
The Russian President declared that the neighbouring nation “belongs to Russia” as he followed through on promises to seize territory given up by the country in the fall of the Soviet Union.
James – a former Strictly and DOI champ – caused a stir when he took to his Twitter to call on his former co-stars to speak out.
He bluntly wrote: “I don’t see many of the Russian dancers I know and have shared the Strictly dance floor with, speaking out about the war against Ukraine.
“But they are still promoting themselves on social media.
“Very disappointed, they know who they are.”
James made the comments on Twitter and was supported by dozens of people.
But many criticised him – including Strictly’s current head judge Shirley Ballas, 61.
She re-posted his message with the politely-worded comment: “Dear James. Not sure who you follow and who follows you but many dancers I know have retweeted in support of the Ukraine and have felt shame at their own government, lots of help for their fellow dancers.
Read our Russia – Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates
“Lots have spoken out and retweeted.”
Not letting things lie, he replied: “We clearly are talking about different dancers then 
”
Shirley then wrote: “It’s heartbreaking but in our Russian Ukraine dance community the support has been overwhelming.
“Sadness, tears, massive help and support. I don’t know any one who has not reached out from the very top dancer to the beginners. Xxx hugs.”
Directing his next post to another user, he continued to reference the Strictly pros as he added: “If they are too scared to speak out against wrong then stay the f*** off social media for a while and stop with the self promotion during this horrific time. “
Another user added: “Or …… maybe they are not speaking out because they are brainwashed too.”
James, who is married to his former co-star Ola Jordan, retweeted a comment saying “ I agree. If young Russian tennis players can so can anyone. It’s about time! Putin can’t go after them all!!”
‘HEARTBREAKING’
Currently, the Russian pro’s on the series are Katya Jones and Luba Mushtuk.
Newbie Nikita Kuzmin, who is from Ukraine, recently told of his concerns for his grandmother after he shared a terrifying video of where he grew up in the Obolon district of Kyiv.
He captioned the video “heartbreaking” as he wrote: “This is happening in Kiev, in Obolon – where I grew up.
“My grandma, is right there, couples of minutes away.
“Later in this video you can see a tank going over a civilian car with innocent people in it.”
‘GROOMED’ TO SUCCEED
Former Strictly pro Kristina Rihanoff who was born in Vladivostok, Russia, told how Russians were “groomed to succeed” in the Soviet era.
She previously told Radio 4: “My aunt for example, she has two teenagers who are now 16 and 17, they didn’t grow up in that environment, they have a different mentality.
“They still have quite a lot of Russian mentality to succeed, to be good to your family, to get good grades in school but it’s much more relaxed because they are not as driven because they have much more now than we had.
“We didn’t have big cinemas to go and watch American blockbusters, we read books, we read classics, we would have to work hard to get some kind of approval or compliment from our teachers, so it was very, very different times.”
