Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine conspicuously absent in 2015

In 2015, Ukraine took a year off from the Eurovision Song Contest.

After an extremely successful and uninterrupted run in Eurovision, Ukrainian national broadcaster, NTU, announced that Ukraine would take a year off from Eurovision, missing out on the 60th edition in Vienna, Austria.

NTU cited the current financial, political, and military strain that the country was (and still is) feeling, since the invasion of Ukraine, annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia, the crash of flight MH17, and Moscow’s support for Novorossiya.

Supporting NTU in this decision were numerous famous singers of Ukraine, who refused the opportunity to participate in Eurovision in Ukraine’s current state.

“We consulted with many artists,” said Vlad Baginskiy, the producer of creative association of music programs NTU, "and they said they would not take part in the competition, with only those reasons that now is not the time for fun. And the money that would be spent on the national final of Eurovision 2015 will be better spent on more important needs."

But in 2016, in a sweet after-note, Ukraine came back to Eurovision with a vengeance, to win first place.