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Anna Korsun, 27, who goes by the stage name
Maruv, was selected by a public vote on Saturday to sing at the
contest in Israel in May.
But she said the state broadcaster had tried to impose
contractual obligations on her, including requiring her not to
perform in Russia, that would have made her a propagandist for
the government.
"I am a citizen of Ukraine, pay taxes and sincerely love
Ukraine. But I am not ready to come up with slogans and turn my
participation in the contest into a promotional activity for our
politicians," Maruv wrote on Facebook.
"I am a musician, not a puppet for the political arena."
Ahead of Saturday's televised national final, several senior
officials said Ukraine's Eurovision candidate could not be
someone who performed in Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014,
sparking a pro-Russian insurgency in the eastern Donbass region.
Zurab Alasania, the head of the National Public Broadcasting
Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), said on Facebook:
"The selection revealed another major social problem ... the
concert activity of many artists in the aggressor country. And
this caused a negative resonance in parts of society." He
confirmed that the winning singer was required to refuse to play
in Russia as a condition of signing the contract.
Maruv said she was ready to cancel a tour of Russia but did not
want to be used for political purposes.
UA:PBC said it was looking for a replacement singer to send to
the contest, an annual international music battle whose results
are often influenced by geo-political bias.
Reflecting the political importance of the issue, Deputy Prime
Minister Vyacheslav Kyrylenko tweeted: "The story with the
participant from Ukraine is far from over."
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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