Today, February 27, after long battles on the website of the National public broadcasting company of Ukraine (NOTE) made an official statement saying that Ukraine refused to participate in the contest “Eurovision 2019”, we will Remind, the event will be held in the spring in Israel.

Initially it was assumed that the competition will go to the Ukrainian singer Maruv (Anna Korsun). Her candidacy was selected via audience voting. But the NOTE drew attention that the singer is working closely with Russia, giving concerts on the territory of “hostile” States, and postponed the decision to send her to the contest.

Later, the singer refused to represent Ukraine, because they did not want “to speak in slogans, turning their stay at the competition in the promotion of politicians.” The last “straw” was the fact that Maruv had to sign a contract with a NOTE under which she would have had to refuse from concerts in Russia.

After this NOTE has proposed to the Freedom of Jazz groups and Kazka, who took second and third place in the audience vote. But here was refused. Groups also, as in the case of Maruv, did not want to participate in the contest on condition of the broadcaster. In case of failure of the finalists selection from participation in the competition, the broadcaster can choose the replacement yourself, the report said. However, she rejected this alternative because it “respects the choice of the audience in the national selection”.

The MEMO notes that the audience selection found “systemic problems of the music industry in Ukraine”. According to the broadcaster, when artists from the show business “in the territory of the aggressor state and in the fifth year of the military conflict are still very close.” “For some companies, this fact is acceptable, in another part of the indignation and rejection”, says the NOTE.

Broadcasting company offered to arrange a talk show to discuss the situation and to prepare a bill that could “to resolve the situation with the cooperation of the Ukrainian artists with an aggressor state for the future.”