Ukraine Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra raise £711k for army after auctioning trophy

Eurovision champions Kalush Orchestra have raised $900,000 (£711,000) after auctioning their trophy to provide support for the Ukrainian army.

The Ukrainian rap group won the competition on May 14 after attracting a huge wave of public support for their entry “Stefania”.

On Sunday, the group used a Facebook auction, led by Ukrainian TV presenter Serhiy Prytula, to sell the crystal microphone they were awarded following their triumph.

The cash raised will be used to purchase the PD-2 unmanned aerial system for the armed forces, which includes three aircraft and a ground control station, Prytula said at the auction.

Kalush Orchestra is a rap group made up of rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk, dancer Vlad Kurochka, sopilka player Vitalii Duzhyk, and vocalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Oleksandr Slobodianyk.

The band combines traditional Ukrainian folk music with modern rap and hip hop.

Their win provided a morale boost to Ukrainian forces, who have been battling Russia’s unprovoked invasion of their country for more than three months.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has claimed thousands of civilian lives, sent millions of Ukrainians fleeing and reduced cities to rubble.

Moscow calls its actions a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces endured heavy artillery barrages as they held off Russian attempts to capture Severodonetsk, the largest city Ukraine still controls in the eastern region of Luhansk.