Alluding to the rule that a winner of the previous year's competition gets to host the contest, he said: "Next year Ukraine will host Eurovision!

"The soldiers would come in to get some rest, we were cooking food for them -- borscht, soups, meat, potatoes, there wasn't much selection at the time," he said.

While many were excited to watch Ukraine's victory in the contest, no big parties took place in the capital on Saturday.

This year's Eurovision took place in Italy following a victory by punk rock band Maneskin last year.

It was the first Eurovision final to take place without major Covid restrictions since the pandemic began; the 2020 edition was cancelled, and last year's featured crowd restrictions and some remote performances.

Kalush Orchestra initially finished second in Ukraine's national selection competition, but was elevated after it emerged the winner had previously traveled to Russian-annexed Crimea.