Ukraine, the country hosting this year's Eurovision Song Contest, may ban Moscow's representative, 28-year-old Yulia Samoilova, after reports that the singer visited Crimea after Russia annexed the peninsula today, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
The annexation of Crimea has caused a serious diplomatic crisis in relations between Russia and Ukraine. Even sporting or cultural events are sources of tension between the two countries.
Kiev, which won last year's Eurovision Song Contest and therefore took over this year's competition, has said it will ban some Russian artists it considers "anti-Ukrainian".
On Sunday, Russia announced that it had chosen Samoilova, who will perform the romantic ballad "Flame is burning". The Kremlin has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating "Similar, baseless allegations concerning Ukraine's foreign policy have been made more than once in the past. of the Kremlin Dmitry Peshkov speaking to reporters.
Samoilova allegedly participated in a concert in Crimea in 2015.
It is not clear whether the ban on entering Ukraine means excluding Samoilova from the competition. The organizers did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
"The SBU is examining the issue and will make a decision on its entry into Ukrainian territory," Ukrainian intelligence spokeswoman Olena Gitlyanska said in a Facebook post. This decision will be based on Ukrainian legislation stipulating that Ukraine reserves the right to deny entry to citizens who have visited Crimea (after its annexation) without obtaining permission from Kiev.
Source: newsbeast.gr