13 May 2023 , 22:26
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Russian missiles struck the home city of Ukraine's Eurovision act just moments before the band appeared on stage in Liverpool, according to reports.
Two people were injured in the city of Ternopil, according to Volodymyr Trush, the chief of Ternopil regional state administration.
Mayor of Ternopil, Serhiy Nadal, confirmed that there was damage to warehouses in the area.
It has been reported that the buildings, that belonged to commercial enterprises and a religious organisation, caught fire after being hit.
The city, located in western Ukraine, is the home of the Ukrainian act Tvorchi.
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The act uploaded a post to Instagram citing the reports of Ternopil being attacked, just minutes before they were scheduled to take to the stage. The band went ahead with their performance at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
Tvorchi took to the stage just moments after speaking out about their home city being attacked (Getty Images)Shortly after finishing their rendition of Heart of Steel, the electronic duo took to Instagram a second time, writing: "Ternopil is the name of our hometown, which was bombed by Russia while we sang on the Eurovision stage about our steel hearts, indomitability and will.
"This is a message for all cities of Ukraine that are shelled every day. Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Uman, Sumy, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kherson and all others.
"Europe, unite against evil for the sake of peace!"
The electronic duo called for peaceThe British Ambassador to Ukraine said the country was under fire from Russian missiles on Saturday as the Eurovision Song Contest took place.
“Meanwhile, this Eurovision night Ukraine is under another Russian missile attack,” Dame Melinda Simmons said on Twitter.
“Reminder that the reason why (Ukraine) could not host this event is because (Russia) continues to invade and the people of (Ukraine) live in continuing danger.”
The British Ambassador to Ukraine congratulated the group for their performanceFollowing Tvorchi’s performance, Simmons returned to social media to congratulated the group, writing: “Tvorchi def win the prize for graphics. The staging was brilliant. And poignant as their university home town of Ternopil was targeted by [Russian] missiles this eve.”
Eurovision commentator Timur Miroshnichenko said: 'Well done, boys! For Ternopil, which is being bombed now, for Mariupol, which was bombed a year ago. For all the cities and people of our country!'
Russia has not yet made any official comment.
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