"Ignorance of laws": the Ukrainian jury of the National Selection, which sang in the Russian Federation, was smashed in Polyakova

The producer of Olya Polyakova, who has been involved in scandals more than once, does not share the position of the broadcaster and stated that the company "evaded a serious discussion" about updating the regulations. He wrote more about it on his Facebook page.

According to Mykhailo Yasynskyi, "Suspilne" does not want to touch on the topic of revising the rules, because this will inevitably lead to the mention of jury members and winners of past years, among which "there are names that I don't really want to mention. " The producer hinted that it is, in particular, about the singer Jamala, who is the producer of the National Selection this year. Mykhailo added to his post a photo where the artist is depicted next to the composer Kostyantyn Meladze.

In his opinion, these details only emphasize the selectivity of the broadcaster's approaches to the contestants. Jamala's former PR manager, Denys Kozlovsky, once explained that the singer performed twice in Russia in 2014 — in Moscow and Sochi. According to him, at that time the team was faced with a difficult moral choice: cancel the planned concerts or fulfill the commitments made to the organizers.

In 2019, the rules forbid artists who performed in Russia or the occupied territories after 2014 to participate in the Selection. It is because of this norm that Olya Polyakova, who went to the Russian Federation in 2015, cannot try her hand at the moment. Yasynskyi stated that Suspilne demonstrates a "low level of communication" and acts as if it "takes on almost state functions", forgetting the principles of publicity and accountability defined by the law on public media.

He cited the position of lawyers who believe that the ban on participation due to tours is a restriction not based on artistic, but on "behavioral" criteria. In the public and legal sphere, this can be considered as a discriminatory norm, and refusal to participate - illegal. "If the court finds the disputed provisions illegal, this may lead to the annulment of the results of the National Selection and the restart of the competition," the producer stressed.

He added that the most reasonable decision for "Suspilny" would be simply not to mention Polyakova during the announcement of the list of participants, in order to avoid unnecessary problems and reputational losses. A few days ago, Olya Polyakova officially confirmed that she submitted an application for participation in the National Selection for Eurovision 2026. However, the current rules of the competition do not allow artists who performed or toured in Russia after 2014.

In 2015, Polyakova became the co-host of the Russian RU. TV award ceremony and explained it by "friendly relations with the organizers. " "I was the main character of a reality show on the RU. TV music channel, which the audience really liked. And now the channel, with which we have a great relationship, has offered me to become a co-host of the ceremony," commented the stage star.

The day before, she sent an official letter to the spokesperson of "Suspilny", in which she called for a change in the rules and threatened a lawsuit. In response, the company stated that it was no longer possible to change the regulations, since the competition started on September 3, and any changes would violate the procedure. Spectators write that the story with the participation of Ola Polyakova in the National Selection can be a PR campaign to draw attention to new songs.