Kremlin says Kiev tarnishing Eurovision with ban on Russian entry

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest is seen during a ceremony to hand over the Eurovision host city insignia to the Ukrainian capital in Kiev, Ukraine January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin accused Ukraine on Thursday of damaging the prestige of the Eurovision song contest, which Kiev is hosting this year, with its decision to bar the Russian participant from entering the country.

Ukraine's state security service said on Wednesday Yulia Samoylova, a 27-year-old Russian singer, had violated Ukrainian law by visiting Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and would not be allowed to enter Ukraine for three years.