(Newswire.net — March 1, 2019) — After winning the Ukraine selection Vidbir 2019 for Eurovision with her hit and catch song Siren Song, MARUV has been forced to pull out from the competition.
The singer, whose stage name is Anna Korsun, wowed the audience with her performance of Siren Song, a powerful act with co-ordinated dancers and a memorable tune, was chosen to represent Ukraine at Eurovision.
However, on the 25th of February, it was announced that MARUV would be withdrawing from the competition, as some officials of the Ukrainian jury debated her patriotism to her country. The broadcaster of Anna Korsun’s song stated that ‘had not found common ground in the mission of the representative of Ukraine at the international song contest.’ However, rumours then circulated that Maruv was dropped from the singing competition after she refused to agree to cancel all her upcomping appearances in Russia, a country which has a tumultuous relationship with Russia.
The broadcaster later confirmed that they would be selecting another singer to attend Eurovision, however, their offers to the runners up of Vidbir 2019 rejected the offer. Ukraine were then forced to withdraw themselves from the Eurovision contest that will take place in Tel Aviv in May. This decision has come as a big blow to Ukraine, which, since joining the Eurovision contest in 2003, have succeeded to every single final, and have won twice.
Despite Maruv’s withdrawal from the competition over questions over her patriotism, she personally defended herself over the popular social media site, Instagram. On this platform, Maruv wrote ‘I am a citizen of Ukraine, pay taxes and sincerely love Ukraine. But I am not ready to come up with slogans, turn my taking part in the contest into promotion for our politicians.”
Why are relations between Ukraine and Russia so bad?
Although the relations between Russia and Ukraine have always been tumultuous, relations have become even worse after Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation. The change came after the Ukrainian riots, where Russia subsequently took over Crimea. After a Crimea-only referendum, Crimea decided to become part of the Russian Federation, sparking outrage in Ukraine. To this day, Ukraine still believes that Crimea is of Ukrainian territory, along with many UN members. This disagreement between the two countries has led to an ever-increasing hatred for each other, and both countries dislikes any affiliation with the other.