During the Eurovision Song Contest in Great Britain late on Saturday, Russian rockets hit the city of Ternopil in western Ukraine, home of the electro-pop duo Tvorchi, who represented Ukraine this year, Reuters reports.

Ukrainian band Tvorchi in the Eurovision 2023 finalPhoto: Peter Kneffel / DPA / Profimedia

Local authorities reported on Telegram that warehouses belonging to some shops and a religious organization were damaged as a result of the attack, and two people were injured.

Melinda Simmons, the British ambassador to Kyiv, praised Tvorchi for their performance at Eurovision 2023, she wrote on Twitter.

Tvorchi said this week that they hope to shine a light on their country’s struggle for freedom by taking part in Eurovision.

Last year’s Eurovision Song Contest was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, who received huge support from across Europe just months after Russia launched its invasion and brought the horror of war back to the continent. This year, Ukraine could not host the Eurovision Song Contest, as the winner usually does, due to the Russian invasion, and under these conditions, Great Britain, whose competitor took second place last year, became the organizer.

The Eurovision Song Contest was won on Saturday night by Sweden’s Lauryn, who became the second artist in the history of the contest to win the trophy twice after Ireland’s Johnny Logan in the 80s (she also won in 2012).

On Saturday night, Ukraine took an honorable 6th place, Moldova, represented by Pasha Parfeni, was in the second part of the ranking, taking 18th place (out of 26 positions), and Romania failed to make it to the Eurovision 2023 final.