Ukrainian Eurovision representative Viktoria Leléka opens her heart in a deeply personal interview. The singer speaks candidly about her second divorce, her housing instability, and why she cannot return to her childhood home.
Ukraine’s Eurovision 2026 representative, Viktoria Leléka – known to fans simply as Leléka – has opened up about a severe personal crisis. In a raw and emotional interview, the singer revealed that she is currently going through a divorce from her second husband. According to Leléka, the painful breakdown of her marriage coincided exactly with the launch of Vidbir, Ukraine’s national selection for Eurovision. While she officially moved to Berlin for her studies, she does not own any property or have a permanent home there.
“I don’t understand where I’m supposed to live”
For six months during her Eurovision preparations, Leléka lived in Kyiv in a small apartment belonging to a close friend, who kindly let her stay for free. However, now that the glitz and glamour of the contest are over, the singer is forced to confront harsh realities regarding her finances and living situation.
Speaking to BBC News Ukraine, she burst into tears while describing her current state of mind:
“I am currently going through a separation from my second husband… I just hope I will get a chance to take a breath. To find my bearings and figure out how and where I can earn a living, and where I can rent an apartment. This situation is affecting me drastically.
Just now, on the train ride here, I cried for half the journey because I simply don’t understand where I am supposed to live. I feel like a migratory bird. I have this feeling that throughout my entire life, I haven’t built any foundation for myself because I’m not a normal person – I live and breathe art. I have never had anything stable, anywhere.”
Childhood home has become a shelter for refugees
When asked why she does not return to her hometown of Shakhterske in the Dnipro region – an area that is not occupied – Leléka shared a heartbreaking and poignant reason. She revealed that her parental apartment, the place where she grew up, is currently housing refugees who fled the horrors of the war in the Luhansk region.
“There is no stability. My hometown is not occupied, but I don’t feel like I have a home to return to there. In our apartment, where I grew up, refugees from the Luhansk region are now living. I feel like it is their home now, because their original home was destroyed and taken away from them in a vulgar and terrible way. My home became their home, and I have no desire to go there and demand it back or remind them of the situation.
Because they are forced to live there, I feel like my personal space was taken from me; it no longer belongs to me. Beyond that, I am afraid to go back because it is not safe. This experience made me realize that anything material can vanish in a single moment.”
Looking ahead: A family nest in Ukraine
Despite the overwhelming hardships, Leléka makes it clear that she has no intention of walking away from music or the stage, which keeps her going. When asked about her dreams for the future, she shared a much more grounded and mature perspective than she held in the past.
“What does Leléka dream about? In the past, all my dreams were about creativity, music, and professional achievements. Today, even though I am hurt and scarred, if I can find that inner trust again, I would simply like to have a family.
I want to build a small, stable ‘nest’ here in Ukraine. I don’t know with whom, when, or how it will happen yet, but I long for it. Creatively, I will keep moving forward no matter what—I am an artist at heart, for life, forever.”
LELÉKA – Who Are You?
Leléka, whose full name is Viktoria Leléka, is a Ukrainian folk‑jazz singer. She leads a Ukrainian‑German ensemble of the same name, Leléka, with which she has released three studio albums and two EPs. The ensemble has received prestigious awards, including the Creole Global Music Contest in 2017, and the prize for Best Young European Band at the Burghausen Jazz Festival in 2018. In 2020, the ensemble created and produced the music for the Ukrainian historical television series “There will be people”. The group has continued to create and gain recognition, and in 2021 it won the “Band of the Year” award at the Deutscher Jazzpreis festival.
Ukraine at Eurovision 2026
“Ridnym” is the title of the song that was performed by Leléka, who represented Ukraine at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria. Leléka finished 9th in the grand final with 221 points. The song was written by Viktoria Leléka, who also performs it, together with Adama Cefalu.
The main message of the song is that precisely through confronting fear and transforming pain into joy, people can grow to new heights and lead the way home, much like trees that rise even higher after the storm.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Ukraine’s 21st participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ukraine joined the competition in 2003 and has won it three times. Ukraine’s last victory was in Eurovision 2022 with the song “Stefania” performed by Kalush Orchestra.
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Tal Dahan – Journalist, radio broadcaster, and Eurovision content creator.
Tal Dahan is an Israeli journalist and editor specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest, working with the EuroMix editorial team for four years. Since 2022, she has provided regular on-site coverage of Eurovision from the host city, and from 2023 has also reported directly from the press room—offering the Israeli audience live updates, exclusive interviews, and in-depth commentary.
Tal is a member of the Eurovision tribute and parody band “EuroFalsh,” a radio broadcaster, and a student of political science and communications.
She is considered one of Israel’s leading young Eurovision experts. In addition to covering the main contest, Tal has reported from Eurovision pre-parties and national selection events across Europe (in Thessaloniki, Stockholm, Madrid, and more), been interviewed by major media outlets in Israel and internationally, and presented Eurovision-themed podcasts and radio shows.
