A Russian singer banned by Ukraine from entering the country will be able to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest through a live video link, the contest's executive supervisor, Jon Ola Sand, said Thursday.

Ukraine, which hosts the international contest in May, has imposed a three-year entry ban against singer Julia Samoylova, who performed in Russia-annexed Crimea in 2015.

Ukraine considers Crimea to be occupied Ukrainian territory and requires permission to enter the Black Sea peninsula.

The Kremlin has denounced the ban as "absolutely unfair" and accused Ukraine of degrading the contest, whose rules do not permit political gestures.

"It is imperative that the Eurovision Song Contest remains free from politics, and as such, due to the circumstances surrounding Julia's travel ban, we have felt it important to propose a solution that transcends such issues," Sand said in an emailed statement.

"We are continuing our dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities with the ambition to have all artists present to perform in the host city," Sand said.

Eurovision responded to the ban earlier this week by saying it was "deeply disappointed" but must "respect the local laws of the host country."

Samoylova, 27, suffers from a rare muscular disorder and has used a wheelchair since childhood. She has won acclaim in Russia, including with a performance at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi.

Samoylova has described a would-be performance at Eurovision as her life-long dream and planned to sing the English-language ballad "Flame Is Burning," partially about finding courage within oneself.

Ukraine won last year's Eurovision contest with a song about Soviet-era repressions in Crimea. The song, whose singer Jamala has Crimean Tatar roots, was widely perceived in Moscow to be a swipe at Russia.