Vietnamese singer Duc Phuc has won Russia’s Intervision song contest, held in Moscow on Saturday.
Vietnam was among 23 countries participating in the Soviet-era contest, revived by President Vladimir Putin three years after Russia was banned from Eurovision because of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Putin said he was confident the event would become “one of the most recognisable and beloved events in the world”.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it considered Intervision 2025 “an instrument of hostile propaganda and a means of whitewashing the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation”.
China and India were among the participants, but Australian-born singer Vassy, representing the US, pulled out at the last minute because of “unprecedented political pressure from the Government of Australia”, the organisers said.
You can read more about Russia’s answer to Eurovision here.