Samoylova was selected on 12 March 2017 to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 held in the capital of Ukraine , Kiev , with the song " Flame Is Burning " . On 13 March , the Security Service of Ukraine announced that they might ban her from entering Ukraine due to her 2015 visit to Crimea – a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014 . According to Ukrainian law entering Crimea via Russia is illegal . Samoylova has stated that she did perform in Crimea in 2015 . On 22 March , the Security Service of Ukraine banned Samoylova from entering Ukraine for three years for her violation of Ukrainian legislation State broadcaster Russia-1 announced on 13 April their withdrawal from the contest , which meant Samoylova would not participate in Eurovision 2017 . It had been previously announced that , if Samoylova was unable to take part in 2017 , she would be selected to represent Russia in 2018 . Samoilova instead performed in Sevastopol , Crimea , on the day of the Eurovision semi-final
Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Yuliya Samoylova (singer)