The news broke earlier today. Ukraine comes again in the spotlight of negative criticism as the SBU, the Ukrainian Security Services decided the ban of the Russian representative Julia Samoilova from entering the Ukrainian territory, hence this blocks her Eurovision participation in May.

EBU Reacts over the Russian ban

ESCToday contacted the European Broadcasting Union to comment over this embroilment which affects the Eurovision Song Contest. The response was the following:

It has been confirmed to the EBU that the Ukrainian authorities have issued a travel ban on the Russian artist chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest, Julia Samoylova, as she has been judged to have contravened Ukrainian law by entering Crimea in order to perform.

We have to respect the local laws of the host country, however we are deeply disappointed in this decision as we feel it goes against both the spirit of the Contest, and the notion of inclusivity that lies at the heart of its values.

We will continue a dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities with the aim of ensuring that all artists can perform at the 62^nd Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv in May.