Ukraine has refused to participate in Eurovision

Ukraine will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019 , Hromadske reports, citing the National Public Broadcasting Company.

“In the current situation, <…> as well as in the context of excessive politicization of the national selection, the public broadcaster decided to refuse to participate in the International Song Contest Eurovision 2019,” the statement said.

The decision was made after the candidacy of the singer Maruv, who won the national selection, was not approved, and the other leaders of the selection, the groups Freedom-Jazz and Kazka, refused to participate. The investigation around Maruv's candidacy was connected with her tour in Russia.

• In 2017, when Eurovision was held in Kyiv, Russia did not participate in the contest. Ukraine refused to let Russian participant Yulia Samoylova into the country, who had previously entered Crimea from the territory of the Russian Federation and thus violated Ukrainian law.