Latest news with #KhrystynaStarykova
BreakingNews.ie
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
War reaches Ukrainian rock band Ziferblat even at Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine's musicians cannot escape war, even at the Eurovision Song Contest. Rock band Ziferblat were in Basel, Switzerland, to represent their country when they learned that the home of backing singer Khrystyna Starykova in a frontline region of eastern Ukraine had been destroyed by Russian shelling. Advertisement 'She's so strong,' said guitarist Valentyn Leshchynskyi, who formed Ziferblat with his vocalist twin brother Daniil and drummer Fedir Khodakov. Ziferblat from Ukraine perform the song Bird Of Pray during the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland (Martin Meissner/AP) 'She is 19 years old only, but the impact of this situation – I think she won't give up. 'Of course it's difficult when you're losing your flat while you need to stay calm to celebrate here because it's a musical festival, it's not about the war.' The band are set to compete for Ukraine in Saturday's Eurovision grand final with Bird Of Pray, a song whose intense vocals and prog rock sound owe something to the 1970s – as does the bell-bottomed pink suit Daniil Leshchynskyi wore in Tuesday's semi-final. Advertisement Valentyn Leshchynskyi said the lyrical message of loss and hope, centred on a phoenix-like bird, resonates with what Ukrainians experienced in recent years. 'We want to build a dream on the stage – even for three minutes, for Ukrainians – like the war will be over in the very near future,' he told The Associated Press. Ukraine is a long-time Eurovision competitor – as was its neighbour Russia. Both saw their relationship with the continental pop contest transformed by Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago. Advertisement Russia was kicked out of Eurovision. People from Ukraine hold a giant Ukrainian flag during a family meeting with their Eurovision band Ziferblat in a park in Basel as part of the Eurovision Song Contest week (Martin Meissner/AP) Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest less than three months after the invasion. Winning brought the right to host the contest the following year. When war made that impossible, Liverpool stepped in to stage Eurovision with a distinctly Ukrainian flavour, decking out the English city in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags. Advertisement Even before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine used Eurovision for cultural diplomacy, as a way to tell the world about their country's history, music and language. Ukrainian singer Jamala won the contest in 2016 – two years after Russia illegally seized Crimea – with a song about the expulsion of Crimean Tatars by Stalin in 1944. Kalush Orchestra's winning song Stefania blended rapping in Ukrainian with a haunting refrain on a traditional Ukrainian wind instrument. Now the message is that Ukraine is still standing, and still fighting. Advertisement Daniil admitted to feeling a 'little bit of pressure' ahead of Saturday. But he said it was 'such a privilege' to represent Ukraine. Ziferblat from Ukraine give an interview to The Associated Press in Basel, Switzerland (Martin Meissner/AP) 'We have two missions here,' his brother Valentyn said. One is to come out at or near the top in Saturday's 26-nation musical showdown. The other is 'to remind Europeans about the war'. As part of their Eurovision journey, the band are fundraising to buy robotic de-mining systems to help clear an area of Ukraine they say is three-and-a-half times the size of Switzerland. Ziferblat's trip to Eurovision coincided with Vyshyvanka Day – the third Thursday in May, when Ukrainians around the world wear traditional embroidered shirts as a symbol of national pride. Women in traditional dresses prepare to dance in a park during a family meeting with Ukrainians and their Eurovision competition band Ziferblat as part of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest week in Basel, Switzerland (Martin Meissner/AP) The band members joined scores of Ukrainians clad in elaborately stitched vyshyvanka in a Basel park to eat borscht, sing Ukrainian songs and cheer on the band ahead of Saturday's final. 'This is a day that is gathering all Ukrainians together,' Valentyn said. 'In Kyiv, the capital, everyone is wearing these shirts and going to the streets celebrating and you feel like a united nation for one day.'
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
War reaches Ukrainian rock band Ziferblat even at the Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine's musicians can't escape war, even at the Eurovision Song Contest. Rock band Ziferblat were in Basel, Switzerland to represent their country when they learned the home of backing singer Khrystyna Starykova in a frontline region of eastern Ukraine had been destroyed by Russian shelling. 'She's so strong,' said guitarist Valentyn Leshchynskyi, who formed Ziferblat with his vocalist twin brother Daniil and drummer Fedir Khodakov. 'She is 19 years old only, but the impact of this situation — I think she won't give up. 'Of course it's difficult when you're losing your flat while you need to stay calm to celebrate here because it's a musical festival, it's not about the war.' The band is set to compete for Ukraine in Saturday's Eurovision grand final with 'Bird of Pray,' a song whose intense vocals and prog rock sound owe something to the 1970s – as does the bell-bottomed pink suit Daniil Leshchynskyi wore in Tuesday's semi-final. Valentyn Leshchynskyi said the lyrical message of loss and hope, centered on a phoenix-like bird, resonates with what Ukrainians experienced in recent years. 'We want to build a dream on the stage – even for three minutes, for Ukrainians – like the war will be over in the very near future,' he told The Associated Press. Ukraine is a longtime Eurovision competitor – as was its neighbor Russia. Both saw their relationship with the continental pop contest transformed by Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago. Russia was kicked out of Eurovision. Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest less than three months after the invasion. Winning brought the right to host the contest the following year. When war made that impossible, Liverpool stepped in to stage Eurovision with a distinctly Ukrainian flavor, decking out the English city in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags. Even before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine used Eurovision for cultural diplomacy, as a way to tell the world about their country's history, music and language. Ukrainian singer Jamala won the contest in 2016 — two years after Russia illegally seized Crimea — with a song about the expulsion of Crimean Tatars by Stalin in 1944. Kalush Orchestra's winning song 'Stefania' blended rapping in Ukrainian with a haunting refrain on a traditional Ukrainian wind instrument. Now the message is that Ukraine is still standing, and still fighting. Daniil admitted to feeling a 'little bit of pressure' ahead of Saturday. But he said it was 'such a privilege' to represent Ukraine. 'We have two missions here,' his brother Valentyn said. One is to come out at or near the top in Saturday's 26-nation musical showdown. The other is 'to remind Europeans about the war.' As part of its Eurovision journey, the band is fundraising to buy robotic de-mining systems to help clear an area of Ukraine he says is 3 1/2 times the size of Switzerland. Ziferblat's trip to Eurovision coincided with Vyshyvanka Day — the third Thursday in May, when Ukrainians around the world wear traditional embroidered shirts as a symbol of national pride. The band members joined scores of Ukrainians clad in elaborately stitched vyshyvanka in a Basel park to eat borscht, sing Ukrainian songs and cheer on the band ahead of Saturday's final. 'This is a day that is gathering all Ukrainians together,' Valentyn said. 'In Kyiv, the capital, everyone is wearing these shirts and going to the streets celebrating and you feel like a united nation for one day.' ___ Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this story.
Associated Press
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
War reaches Ukrainian rock band Ziferblat even at the Eurovision Song Contest
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Ukraine's musicians can't escape war, even at the Eurovision Song Contest. Rock band Ziferblat were in Basel, Switzerland to represent their country when they learned the home of backing singer Khrystyna Starykova in a frontline region of eastern Ukraine had been destroyed by Russian shelling. 'She's so strong,' said guitarist Valentyn Leshchynskyi, who formed Ziferblat with his vocalist twin brother Daniil and drummer Fedir Khodakov. 'She is 19 years old only, but the impact of this situation — I think she won't give up. 'Of course it's difficult when you're losing your flat while you need to stay calm to celebrate here because it's a musical festival, it's not about the war.' The band is set to compete for Ukraine in Saturday's Eurovision grand final with 'Bird of Pray,' a song whose intense vocals and prog rock sound owe something to the 1970s – as does the bell-bottomed pink suit Daniil Leshchynskyi wore in Tuesday's semi-final. Valentyn Leshchynskyi said the lyrical message of loss and hope, centered on a phoenix-like bird, resonates with what Ukrainians experienced in recent years. 'We want to build a dream on the stage – even for three minutes, for Ukrainians – like the war will be over in the very near future,' he told The Associated Press. Ukraine is a longtime Eurovision competitor – as was its neighbor Russia. Both saw their relationship with the continental pop contest transformed by Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago. Russia was kicked out of Eurovision. Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest less than three months after the invasion. Winning brought the right to host the contest the following year. When war made that impossible, Liverpool stepped in to stage Eurovision with a distinctly Ukrainian flavor, decking out the English city in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags. Even before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine used Eurovision for cultural diplomacy, as a way to tell the world about their country's history, music and language. Ukrainian singer Jamala won the contest in 2016 — two years after Russia illegally seized Crimea — with a song about the expulsion of Crimean Tatars by Stalin in 1944. Kalush Orchestra's winning song 'Stefania' blended rapping in Ukrainian with a haunting refrain on a traditional Ukrainian wind instrument. Now the message is that Ukraine is still standing, and still fighting. Daniil admitted to feeling a 'little bit of pressure' ahead of Saturday. But he said it was 'such a privilege' to represent Ukraine. 'We have two missions here,' his brother Valentyn said. One is to come out at or near the top in Saturday's 26-nation musical showdown. The other is 'to remind Europeans about the war.' As part of its Eurovision journey, the band is fundraising to buy robotic de-mining systems to help clear an area of Ukraine he says is 3 1/2 times the size of Switzerland. Ziferblat's trip to Eurovision coincided with Vyshyvanka Day — the third Thursday in May, when Ukrainians around the world wear traditional embroidered shirts as a symbol of national pride. The band members joined scores of Ukrainians clad in elaborately stitched vyshyvanka in a Basel park to eat borscht, sing Ukrainian songs and cheer on the band ahead of Saturday's final. 'This is a day that is gathering all Ukrainians together,' Valentyn said. 'In Kyiv, the capital, everyone is wearing these shirts and going to the streets celebrating and you feel like a united nation for one day.' ___ Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this story.
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Home of Ukraine Eurovision contestant destroyed by Russian shelling
Russian shelling has destroyed the home of a teenage Ukrainian Eurovision contestant a week before the competition begins. Khrystyna Starykova, 19, posted photos and video on social media detailing her damaged apartment block in the city of Myrnograd of eastern Ukraine 's Donetsk region. The teenager is currently in Switzerland rehearsing for her performance with the band Ziferblat. Ms Starykova is a backing singer, affectionately known as "bird girl" as she handles the song's high notes. Ms Starykova posted two photos of her apartment block shrouded in smoke and still partly on fire, alongside the captions 'Home' with a broken heart emoji and 'I dreamed so much of returning home'. She added that she was determined to still perform at Eurovision next week, in Basel, 'for the sake of our country'. 'I want to show what a strong people we are,' she wrote. In an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne, Ms Starykova added that she had believed her home could be destroyed at any moment. Her grandmother lost her home just four months ago and the roof of her aunt's house was also destroyed. Ms Starykova's home is less than five miles from the frontline, next door to the city of Pokrovsk, a key aim of the Russian advance in Donetsk over the past year. The teenager lived through fierce battles between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army from 2014 before the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The vast majority of Myrnograd's pre-war population of 46,000 have fled the city, which has been repeatedly hit by Russian shelling. On Tuesday morning, Ms Starykova shared additional footage of the city's bomb-damaged streets. 'I always went home from vocal lessons this way, she wrote in the caption. 'It was my favourite way home.' Ukraine's Ziferblat will be singing Bird of Pray at this years Eurovision, a song telling the story of Ukrainians separated from their loved ones by the war. "It's about our problems we go through, the tragedy for the last three years," singer Valentyn Leshchynskyi told Eurovision fansite Wiwibloggs. "To be honest, the last eleven years."
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Home of Ukrainian Eurovision contestant destroyed
The home of Ukrainian Eurovision contestant Khrystyna Starykova has been destroyed by Russian shelling in the city of Myrnograd. The 19-year-old is currently in Switzerland rehearsing for her performance with the band Ziferblat, but posted photos of her damaged apartment block in the Sviltly neighbourhood. "Home. And I dreamed so much of returning home," she captioned the post, which showed the building shrouded in smoke, with its windows blown out and several balconies collapsed. "Fortunately, all my relatives and friends are alive and well," she said, and vowed to perform at Eurovision next week "for the sake of our country". "[I want] to show what a strong people we are." The singer posted side-by-side photos of her apartment block as it used to be, and after it was bombed earlier this week. [Khrystyna Starykova] In an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne, Starykova said she had almost anticipated the destruction of her home. "Four months ago, my grandmother lost her home - it was just such a big hole," she said. "Then my aunt lost the roof over her head. "I understood that maybe I could be the next one and, unfortunately, it happened. It's very terrible news. I had really hoped to go back." In a new Instagram post on Tuesday morning, she shared further footage of the bomb-damaged streets of Myrnograd. "I always went home from vocal lessons this way," she wrote in the caption. "It was my favourite way home." Ziferblat will represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest with Bird of Pray, a song telling the story of Ukrainians who have been separated from their loved ones by the war with Russia. "It's about our problems we go through, the tragedy for the last three years," singer Valentyn Leshchynskyi told Eurovision fansite Wiwibloggs. "To be honest, the last eleven years." Starykova is a backing vocalist for the band, affectionately known as "bird girl" as she handles the song's high notes. She previously competed in the Ukrainian version of the TV talent show The Voice, reaching the grand final, where she performed a cover of Duncan Lawrence's Eurovision winner, Arcade. Born in Donetsk, she spent her childhood in Myrnograd, living through fierce battles between Russian-supported separatists and Ukrainian government forces in the region. "When it all started, I was just in shock," she later told local news outlet The Eastern Variant, recalling the heavy shelling that hit Myrnograd in 2015. "The whole sky lit up and we started running to hide in the corridor," she said. "That was the first time I felt it all." The family later moved to Kyiv, where Starykova studied at the renowned Glière Music College - but she always intended to move back to her hometown. In a TV interview, she said it was important to go ahead with her Eurovision performance as a display of resilience. "Despite what happened to me, I want to portray our song in a good way," she said. "And just to convey our main message, that everything will be fine. "Despite our troubles, we will survive. I'm holding on for us."
