but they are no ordinary band. they re from ukraine, a country in the midst of a bloody war. in the lead up to the contest, all the band members faced a difficult decision. now their winning song has become a powerful statement of defiance. and they hope their global stardom will help ukraine s plight. i m viktoria zhuhan, i work as a journalist for bbc in ukraine. i don t normally cover eurovision, especially when there is a war raging in my country. but kalush orchestra isn t an ordinary, typical eurovision contestant. but after following the kalush orchestra for ten days, i ve learned that, for them, this is much more than a singing competition. it s a way to tell the world about the war that s destroying ukraine. we are on our way to a rehearsal in the north of the country. oleh, in the pink hat, the group s front man finds it hard to take in what he sees. it s tima, the band s vocalist and flute player who realises he s been here before. only weeks earlier, russian troop
and they hope their global stardom will help ukraine s plight. i am viktoriia zhuhan. i work as a journalist for bbc in ukraine. i don t normally cover eurovision, especially when there is a war raging in my country, but kalush orchestra isn t an ordinary, typical eurovision contestant. but after following the kalush orchestra for ten days, i ve learned that for them this is much more than a singing competition. it s a way to tell the world about the war that s destroying ukraine. we are on our way to a rehearsal in the north of the country. oleh, in the pink hat, the group s frontman, finds it hard to take in what he sees. it s tymo, the band s vocalist and flute player, who realises he has been here before. only weeks earlier, russian troops were pushed back after a barbaric onslaught. they left mass graves and even evidence of torture. vladimir putin, the president of russia, has started the largest war in europe since world war ii. non stop shelling and a ground invasion
now, their winning song has become a powerful statement of defiance. and they hope their global stardom will help ukraine s plight. i am viktoriia zhuhan. i work as a journalist for bbc in ukraine. i don t normally cover eurovision, especially when there is a war raging in my country, but kalush orchestra isn t an ordinary, typical eurovision contestant. but after following the kalush
and they hope their global stardom will help ukraine s plight. i am viktoriia zhuhan. i work as a journalist for bbc in ukraine. i don t normally cover eurovision, especially when there is a war raging in my country, but kalush orchestra isn t an ordinary, typical eurovision contestant. but after following the kalush orchestra for ten days, i ve learned that for them this is much more than a singing competition. it s a way to tell the world about the war that s destroying ukraine.
now, their winning song has become a powerful statement of defiance. and they hope their global stardom will help ukraine s plight. i am viktoriia zhuhan. i work as a journalist for bbc in ukraine. i don t normally cover eurovision, especially when there is a war raging in my country, but kalush orchestra isn t an ordinary, typical eurovision contestant. but after following the kalush