Ziferblat are soaring towards Basel, ready to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. They’ll be bringing their song of hope, ‘Bird of Pray’.

On the wings of Ukraine

Ukraine held its Vidbir final once again in 2025, in search of an artist and song to send to the Eurovision Song Contest. 10 acts took to the stage, hoping for a ticket to Basel. One of those was the trio Ziferblat, made up of Fedir Khodakov and twins Daniel and Valentyn Leshchynskyi.

The show came with some incredible opening and interval acts, including a Ukrainian-language version of Ruslana’s Wild Dances, which won Eurovision for Ukraine in 2004, and the 2016 winning song 1944 by Jamala.

Vidbir also served up a cover of Ukrainian classic Smile For Me by Nazariy Yaremchuk, sung by a star-studded cast including alyona alyona & Jerry Heil, TVORCHI, Timofiy Muzichuk of Kalush Orchestra, Katerina Pavlenko of Go_A , MELOVIN, Jamala, Tina Karol and Ruslana.

After seeing a stage full of Eurovision greats, the pressure was on. The public and jury votes came in, and Ukraine had its artist, which was none other than Ziferblat with their song Bird of Pray.

Flying into the future

Daniel (vocals), Valentyn (guitar), and Fedir (drums) put their musical minds together in 2015 and Ziferblat was hatched. They’re on a mission to represent a new generation of Ukrainian music, and blend their musical backgrounds with heartfelt lyrics.

Their song Bird of Pray, which was written by the band members, does just that. The words are all about hope for the future. It’s a tender song with a serious message about their daily lives, whilst keeping light in its musicality.

If Ziferblat looked at ease performing in a televised music contest, it may be because they’ve got past experience. The trio were on X Factor Ukraine in 2019 as part of Andriy Danylko’s team, who Eurovision fans will know as Verka Serduchka. She came in second for Ukraine in 2007 with Dancing Lasha Tumbai.

Ziferblat came to prominence in 2023 and went on to win numerous Ukrainian awards. Their music was also chosen to soundtrack a popular video game.

Twins Daniel and Valentyn have always dreamed of representing their country at Eurovision. And 2025 wasn’t the first time Ziferblat made a bid for the Contest. In 2024, they competed in Vidbir with the song Place I Call Home. They lost out to alyona alyona & Jerry Heil, who sang Teresa & Maria, and took third place for Ukraine. But 2025 was their year, and now they’re ready for their Eurovision journey to begin.

Also joining the Ziferblat family is Valentyn’s rescued cat, Sima. She came from an adoption centre and is incredibly gentle. She’s even made it into the band’s TikTok videos. But, as per Eurovision rules, she won’t be taking part in the Contest.

Following the Eurovision path

Both Fedir and Valentyn have strong early memories of watching Ruslana win Eurovision for Ukraine in 2004, while Daniel’s standout childhood moment was watching Tina Karol perform in 2006. She sang Show Me Your Love and took 7th place for Ukraine.

When it comes to Eurovision heroes, the band are spoilt for choice. Fedir votes for Jamala, because of her powerful voice and song. Valentyn thinks it should be Salvador Sobral, who won for Portugal in 2017 when the Contest was held in Kyiv. And Daniel has a long list of Eurovision heroes.

He says: “​​I have a lot of performances at the Eurovision Song Contest that have left a mark on my heart. Usually, these are melodic and beautiful songs. One of my favourites is a performance by the Norwegian band Secret Garden in the 1990s. That song had so few words but so much music. Unbelievable.”

He also loves the sounds of Taken By A Stranger by Lena from the 2011 Contest, which came in 10th for Germany, after she’d won in the previous year with Satellite.

The Ziferblat dawn chorus

The trio all have their own favourite songs, and are united by a love of 1970s and 1980s retro sounds. Valentyn’s top tracks include Kate Bush’s The Sensual World, Gorillaz’s Stylo, and Led Zeppelin’s The Rain Song.

Daniel is a fan of Supertramp’s The Logical Song, Phil Collins’ If Leaving Me Is Easy, and Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now. And Fedir can often be found listening to Chicago’s If You Leave Me Now, Depeche Mode’s It’s No Good, and U2’s Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.

The route to Basel

With Basel on the horizon, the three Ziferblat musicians are thinking about what they might experience in Switzerland. They’ve said they are imagining a country full of mountains, chocolate, and cheese, and they’re expecting to see some high-quality watches, too.

Valentyn says it’s his first time abroad since 2019, and he’s so happy to have this opportunity.

Listen out for Ziferblat on the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast .

You can learn more about Ziferblat from Ukraine right here .