Ukraine Thread

[Gilrandir]

Meanwhile Ukraine faces another challenge.

This year's Eurovision song contest is held in Kyiv. Russia was the last to announce its choice of a contestant. This turned out to be Yulia Samoilova, a handicapped woman of 27 who has spent most of her life in the wheelchair. But Russia's choice is unsurprisingly fraught with cunning. Back in 2014 Samoilova ardently supported the annexation of Crimea and in 2015 gave a concert there. According to Ukrainian laws such people are not admitted to the country. But Ukraine official position on the issue hasn't been clarified yet. This is due to a dilemma:

If Ukraine forbade her entrance there would be a salvo of charges hurtled at it starting with the violation of the contest rules up to usual wails from Russia amounting to: "Now you see how low these nazis have gone - denying entrance to a handicapped person whose sin is no other but the desire to show the power of her spirit and sing to people".

If Samoilova were let in Ukraine would show to its citizens that its laws on Crimea can be negligible and thus indirectly would recognize the annexation (coupled with the likely Russian comments of the kind: "You see Ukraine is a failed state. It can't even enforce its own laws on the territory that is left to it, how can one talk of returning Crimea into this realm of chaos. Moreover, one can see now that Ukraine can be forced into accepting whatever is pushed down on them.").

So the authorities have now to find some way not to lose face and to avoid a scandal as much as possible.