From win to the war
Kisses his girl goodbye
One day after his band won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleg Psiuk landed a kiss from his girlfriend before heading back to war-torn Ukraine to fight the Russian invaders.
Oleg Psiuk was seen Sunday embracing Oleksandra, for whom news accounts gave no surname, outside a hotel in Italy right before he left in a taxi on his way to his country that has been under attack since February.
An image of the farewell smooch looks akin to a scene out of a war movie.
Psiuk and his six-member folk-rap group won the contest Saturday with their upbeat tune “Stefania.” But jubilation quickly turned to reality when Psiuk and other members were called to return to their country by Monday.
Since the invasion, Ukraine his ordered all men ages 18-60 to remain in the country. But the all-male group had been allowed to leave to compete in the contest.
Following their win, the group released the music video to “Stefania,” which features images of Ukrainian cities under attack.
“Hi friends, today the long-awaited music video ‘Stefania’ has been released,” the group said on Instagram. “We shot it in Bucha, Irpen, Gostomel and Borodyanka. It hurts deeply and painful.”
The song, originally an ode to Psiuk’s mother, has become a rallying cry in Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
Psiuk, who wears a trademark pink bucket hat, turned 28 Monday.
“Many goals in my life have been reached and many task lists have been completed. Born in Kalush, I got lots of
typical experience and it was not easy to diversify it,” he wrote on the group’s Instagram Monday.
“Throughout my life I have been changing, my views and priorities have been shifting, but there have always been a few qualities driving me that I would never exchange for anything. Hard-working, curious, and avid nature in everything I did.”
He said that before the contest, he set up a volunteer organization that uses social media to help people find transportation and shelter, according to PBS.