Comment by the Information and Press Department on the entry ban to Ukraine for Russia’s Eurovision 2017 contestant Yulia Samoilova

Submitted on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 14:59

The Ukrainian officials have, once again, proved their image of a regime infested with Russophobic paranoia and nationalist insecurities.

Kiev must be seriously afraid of a fragile young woman if the Ukrainian Security Service banned Russia’s Eurovision contestant Yulia Samoilova from entering Ukraine. This is a demonstration of both political depravity and weakness and Ukraine’s true attitude towards so-called European values. The most important thing was not to take care of arranging a decent Eurovision contest – a song competition – but their intention to turn any event involving Ukraine into a politicised anti-Russian gathering. It turns out that the interests of ordinary viewers, singers and the country’s international obligations mean nothing to the current authorities in Kiev.

It will be interesting to see the response from the European Broadcasting Union, its partners in Europe and Ukraine’s foreign curators to yet another antic of Kiev.