The Ukrainians finished well ahead of British singer Sam Ryder, who finished second with 466 points, with 631 points.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Press)
Kyiv While Ukraine is beginning to think about where to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year, bitter fighting continues, especially in the east of the country. President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of a very difficult situation in the Donbass industrial area there. Regional authorities expect new attacks by Russian troops in several directions.
After the band Kalush Orchestra’s victory at the ESC held in Turin, Selenski was determined to fulfill his duties as host country despite the current Russian war of aggression. “Next year, Ukraine will host the Eurovision!” Zelensky wrote on Sunday night in his news channel on the Telegram chat service.
Selenski also referred to the band’s appeal to the ESC to save the port city of Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian troops. “We are doing everything so that one day the Ukrainian Mariupol will welcome Eurovision participants and guests. A free, peaceful, rebuilt!” he wrote.
Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko wrote to Telegram that the government is starting to think about where to hold the Eurovision Song Contest. The Ukrainians finished well ahead of British singer Sam Ryder, who finished second with 466 points, with 631 points.
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Foreign Minister Kuleba: Please accept the consequences of the Russia sanctions
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba exchanged views with his US colleague Antony Blinken in Berlin. “More weapons and other aid are on their way to Ukraine from the United States,” Kuleba said on Twitter. In addition, close cooperation has been agreed in efforts to enable Ukrainian food exports to Asia and Africa. “Blinken and grateful to the US for their leadership and steadfast support,” the Ukrainian minister tweeted.
Kuleba is expected to give an update on the situation in Ukraine at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting on Sunday. The US State Department said Blinken and Kuleba discussed the consequences of the Russian invasion, including global food security. Blinken informed about the latest measures to support the Ukrainian defense, says a ministry spokesman.
Kuleba had previously called on people in Germany to accept the consequences of the sanctions against Russia. “Sometimes it’s cheaper to help someone else and endure a short period of deprivation than sitting at home, watching TV and doing nothing, just allowing the problem to eventually knock on your own door,” said Kuleba at “Bild television”.
Kyiv rejects surrender of territories to Russia
Kuleba also reiterated in the interview that his country is not ready for agreements with Russia that would leave Ukrainian territory in the hands of the attackers. “There is nothing wrong with a ceasefire if it is the first step towards a solution where Ukrainian territory is liberated,” he said. “But we will not accept that there is a partial separation of territory.”
The government in Kyiv will “not allow diplomacy to simply prolong our suffering and simply postpone the next phase of the war.”
Zelensky: Russia wants at least a small victory in Donbass
According to Zelensky, the situation in the Donbass region remains “very difficult” for Ukraine. The Russian troops tried to achieve “at least a certain victory” there, said Zelensky in his daily video speech on Sunday night. That seems “particularly crazy” on the 80th day after the invasion. Russian troops are concentrating their attacks on eastern Ukraine after failing to advance towards Kyiv.
Selenski was confident: “Step by step we are forcing the occupiers to leave our country.”
Ukrainian military: Russian attacks across the east
Ukrainian forces continue to fight fiercely in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. As the Ukrainian military announced in an update on Facebook, the situation remains difficult but is under control. By late Saturday evening, soldiers had repulsed twelve attacks in the Donbass region, destroying eight tanks, five artillery systems, nine armored fighting vehicles and six drones.
Fighting in Mariupol continues – new negotiations about fighters in the steel mill
According to Ukrainian authorities, there was a rocket attack in the Lviv region on Sunday morning. As the governor there, Maxim Kosizki, reported on the messenger service Telegram, the military infrastructure was hit. It is still unclear whether people were killed or injured. The extent of the destruction has yet to be determined. Lviv is located in western Ukraine not far from the Polish border.
Zelensky signs law banning pro-Russian parties
Parties that support the Russian war of aggression should soon be able to be banned in Ukraine. Selensi signed a law passed in early May, the Ukrainian parliament announced on its website. The law will come into effect one day after its official publication.
For example, the ban is intended to hit parties that justify or deny Russia’s war against Ukraine. As early as March, Ukrainian authorities halted the activities of nearly a dozen parties allegedly linked to Russia. Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February.
That will be important on Sunday
Sweden’s governing Social Democrats want to make a decision on whether their country should apply for NATO membership. The party had previously spoken out against joining the military alliance, but the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine triggered an intense NATO debate in Sweden – as well as in neighboring Finland.
More: You can follow the latest developments in our news blog