UKRAINE'S Eurovision act has been suspended over claims she travelled to the Russian-occupied Crimea in 2015.
Ukraine’s national broadcaster UA:PBC has suspended the signing of the agreement for Alina Pash to be the country’s representative, according to the BBC.
The 28-year-old singer is now being investigated over her visit to Crimea, an area Russia seized control of in 2014.
Pash will not know if she can perform in the contest in May until the probe is complete.
"We already have so many problems," Pash told Radio 1 Newsbeat. "The pandemic is one of them and it's still with us. Do we need war on top? Are you serious?"
READ MORE: Ukrainians back at work but ‘not naive about seriousness of situation’
The news comes as the world waits to see if Russia will invade Ukraine.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned on Wednesday that Russia had “a very significant force … that would overwhelm Ukraine should it be deployed” and reiterated advice from the Foreign Office, saying British nationals should “seek to either leave or avoid travel to Ukraine”.
Wallace, who is in Brussels for talks with fellow Nato defence ministers, said there needed to be “clear de-escalation” in the removal of Russian troops from the border.
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed troops are returning to base following the conclusion of military exercises, but Wallace said he had not seen “evidence of withdrawal”.
He told Sky News: “I think what we haven’t seen is evidence of withdrawal that has been claimed by the Kremlin, in fact we’ve seen continued build-up of things like field hospitals and strategic weapons systems.”
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