- By Vitaly Shevchenko & Thomas McIntosh
- BBC Watch
During the Eurovision Song Contest, Tvorci held a sign displaying the name of their hometown.
Officials say the band was hit by Russian missiles minutes before the band took to the stage in Liverpool, the home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision act.
Volodymyr Trush, head of the Ternopil regional state administration, confirmed that two people were injured.
Ternopil Mayor Serhiy Natal said warehouses were damaged.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry accused Russia of attacking Kyiv and Ternopil regions before and after Tvorchi’s Eurovision performance.
Ten minutes before taking the stage at the Liverpool Arena, Tworchy posted on Instagram citing the attack on Ternopil in western Ukraine.
After the show, they added: “Ternopil is the name of our hometown, which was bombed by Russia, and we sang on the Eurovision stage about our hearts of steel, impudence and desire.
“This is a message to all the cities of Ukraine that are under shelling every day. Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kiev, Zaporozhye, Uman, Sumy, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kherson and others.
“Europe, unite against evil for peace!”
Tvorchi posted on Instagram that Russia is bombing their own city of Ternopil
They sang “Heart of Steel” – a song about the troops who led an ultimately unsuccessful resistance against Russian forces at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.
Due to the ongoing conflict, Liverpool will host the match on behalf of Ukraine.
At the end of their performance, Dvorchy held their fists in the air as acts from other countries were also seen waving Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag.
image source, Good pictures
Tvorchi is made up of producer Andrey Hatzuliak and Nigerian-raised singer Geoffrey Kenny.
The UK’s ambassador to the UK, Dame Melinda Simmons, described Tvorchi’s Eurovision performance as “intense”.
He added on Twitter: “Reminder that the reason Ukraine can’t host this event is because Russia continues to invade and the people of Ukraine continue to live in danger.”
Posting on Facebook in Ukrainian, Mayor Natal wrote: “It was at this time that our city was hit by Russian missiles.
“Thank you, because your speech has become a symbol not only of the unity of the country, but of the unity of the whole world.”
Russia has yet to officially comment.
He then flew to Germany, arriving in Berlin just before 01:00 local time.
