Ukraine may have to pull out of the Eurovision Song Contest after several acts refused to represent the country at this year's event.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

Things started to go awry at the weekend, when the public chose 27-year-old pop star Maruv as their entry.

But she refused to sign a contract with the state broadcaster following a row about her performing in Russia.

Now, the second- and third-placed bands have also pulled out, saying they did not want to "sow discord".

Eurovision expert Dr Paul Jordan told BBC News: "It's a bit of a mess. They've gone from potentially winning the contest to probably not appearing on stage at all."

Dr Jordan, who earned a PhD with a dissertation on Ukraine's participation in Eurovision, said Maruv's entry, Siren Song, had been one of this year's favourites.

"There's not much of a buzz about the songs that have been selected so far, whereas people were raving about the Ukrainian entry," he said.

"It was quite provocative. I do think it would have had a good chance of scoring quite strongly."