President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko assigned Jamala, who won this year’s Eurovision song contest, the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine, reports press service of President Poroshenko.
“The victory was fantastic. You’ve made a lot of people happy”, - Poroshenko said handing Jamala the award.
Poroshenko said, that Jamala’s victory is very significant to Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars: “The whole world supports Ukraine and Crimea, Crimean Tatar people. Your song, telling the story about your great-grandmother and her little daughter, the story of your people, is so touching, that it’s simply impossible not to vote for it, not to express support for the freedom of Crimea”.
Poroshenko is convinced, that this will contribute to a faster regain of Ukrainian sovereignty on the peninsula: “You’ve made a huge contribution to returning Crimea back in international focus”.
Earlier, Ukrainian singer Jamala won “Eurovision 2016”. Representative from Australia Dami Im came second. Sergei Lazarev from Russia ranks third.
Ukraine received 534 points – 211 from juries and 323 in the televoting. Jamala performed with her song “1944” about the destiny of Crimean Tatars.