(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 15 - "It is difficult to say what will happen now, it is the first time we have won Eurovision. We have a temporary permit to be in Turin: tomorrow we must be back and like every Ukrainian we are ready to fight, as we can and up to when we can".
It has a bitter aftertaste for iKalush's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. "Every success right now is full of meaning for Ukraine.
Our culture has been attacked and we are also here to show that it is alive and has its own hallmark. ".
The Kalushes did so even risking exclusion, yesterday evening, when at the end of the performance they launched an appeal to help Mariupol (later considered by the organization 'only' a humanitarian message).
"The disqualification was a price that I would not hesitate to pay to get my message across - said the singer and leader of the group Oleh Psjuk at a late night press conference -. Our people are stuck in the Azovstal steel mill and they cannot go out. to do this we need to circulate information, to put pressure on politicians ".
President Zelensky, who would like Mariupol to host the next edition of the event, was also committed to their victory.
"We haven't had the chance to talk to him yet,
but as you know he is busy with far more important things.
We will certainly be happy to host the ESC in the new, happy and integrated Ukraine ". (ANSA).
