National Eurovision winner Alina Pash has decided not to take part in the May finals of the Eurovision Song Contest. She confirmed the news on her Instagram page after scandals surrounding her visits to Russian-occupied Crimea.
“I am a singer, not a politician. I do not have an army of publicists, managers, lawyers to resist all this attack and pressure, the breakdown of my social networks; threats. And completely unacceptable wording that people allow themselves without understanding the situation and forgetting about dignity of every citizen of Ukraine. I do not want this virtual war and hatred. The main war now is a foreign one, which came to my country in 2014,” Pash wrote on Instagram.
The singer thanked all who had supported and helped her.
She also noted that she would be in touch with the public broadcaster soon to sign all the necessary documents regarding her refusal.
Even before the final of the national selection on Feb. 12, Alina Pash was accused of treason because of her trips to Crimea and Russia.
The singer denied this.
Her team provided the management of Public Broadcasting with a certificate from the State Border Guard Service stating that she had crossed the border from Ukraine during a trip to Crimea.
Today, Feb. 16, the singer released a reply from the State Border Guard Service saying the agency would not be able to provide a certificate, as information on the crossing of Ukraine’s borders and administrative borders with occupied territories is only stored for 5 years.
What preceded these events
Alina Pash won the Ukrainian national selection rounds on Feb. 12, but immediately after the results were announced Kalush Orchestra, which came second, accused the organizers of rigging the voting results.
Behind the scenes, the band leader asked the organizers to show the results report, but the latter refused to do this.
The organizers assured that there was no falsification.
The two semi-finals and final of Eurovision 2022 will be held May 10-14 in the Italian city of Turin.
It is not yet known who will represent Ukraine at Eurovision.
