13-year-old Sofia Samoliuk refused to perform at the Sanremo Junior Festival in Italy because of a Russian participant. The organizers announced the participation of a citizen of the Russian Federation a few hours before the contest.

As reported by Hromadske, instead of singing, the Ukrainian singer made a speech that she would not perform on the same stage with a Russian. She emphasized the inadmissibility of representatives of the aggressor country on the international stage.

‘I’ve decided that I cannot sing today. I found out that there is a participant from Russia. The country that has already killed more than 500 Ukrainian children. So, I cannot sing on the same stage with a representative of the terrorist country. Thank you all for understanding. I do believe that next the terrorist country will not be here. Please stay with Ukraine’, Sofia said.

Sanremo Junior takes place in Italy under the auspices of the UNICEF. The purpose of the festival is to protect the rights and interests of children.