The Ukrainian band, Kalush Orchestra, took home the Eurovision trophy earlier in May but has now auctioned the crystal microphone to buy drones and help their country fight the Russian invasion. 

They posted the news on Facebook, and the translated post reads, “You guys are amazing! We appreciate each and everyone of you who donated to this auction and a special thanks to the team Whitebit who purchased the trophy for $900,000 and are now the rightful owners of our trophy”. 

The message continues “Get them signed up, they truly deserve it”, and finally concludes “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. 

The $900,000 that the band raised from the sale will be donated to the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation. This charity helps the Ukrainian army and the Kalush Orchestra has said it’ll be used to buy three drones. 

The online auction, Sunday, was led by Prytula, as per Reuters, who reported the money would go towards the purchase of PD-2 unmanned aerial systems.

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The Kalush Orchestra won the 66th edition of the contest which took place between May 10 and 14, in Turin, Italy. The band’s ‘Stefania’ song won them the glory, and as per Eurovision, “Kalush Orchestra formed as an offshoot of the rap group Kalush, focused on blending modern hip-hop sounds with the motifs found in the traditional music and art of Ukraine”. 

After winning the contest, the band released a music video, showing a war-torn Ukraine, and offered a tribute to the country’s mothers. “This is how we see Ukrainian mothers today”, band frontman Oleh Psiuk told Billboard, adding, “We were trying to deliver the message of what Ukraine looks like today.” 

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Kalush front Psiuk has been firm about supporting Ukraine and representing Ukrainian culture and music, which the band has done in the contest. Speaking after the victory, Psiuk not only urged everyone to help Ukraine in whatever way possible but also said they if needed the band members would fight for the country. 

While they haven’t had to take up arms yet, every little bit counts as Ukraine tries to grapple with Russia’s second wave of invasion, which is coming from the east.