Kyiv Pride returns for the first time since Russian invasion
Kyiv Pride marchers note homophobia is falling, but there’s lots of work left to do
Although LGBTQ Ukrainians have fought bravely in the armed forces against the ongoing Russian invasion that began in February 2022, queer Ukrainians haven’t been able to celebrate Kyiv Pride since the war began due to security concerns. This past weekend, Kyiv Pride returned with a brief march to remind Ukrainians that the queer community is still fighting for its rights.
Below are two accounts of the march:
The Polish publication Onet reported:
A Pride march passed through the streets of Kyiv for the first time since the Russian invasion
On Sunday, the Equality March took place on the streets of Kyiv. Despite the Russian invasion, which began in full scale in early 2022, almost 500 people decided to take part in the event. For the first time since the outbreak of the conflict, members of the LGBTQ+ community took to the streets, demanding equal treatment and the adoption of laws on civil partnerships and anti-discrimination.
The march participants, including soldiers, chanted slogans asking the West for weapons to defend against Russian aggression.
“Our society has changed a lot and homophobia is no longer as strong as it was a few years ago. However, we expect that our authorities will also change and adopt laws that will allow us to live with dignity,” said Oleh, one of the march participants.
Due to concerns about the safety of participants in the face of a possible air attack, the march only covered a distance of 100 meters. It was organized near a metro station, enabling quick shelter in the event of a bombing.
Among the march participants was Dmytro, a veteran and representative of the “Soldiers of the LGBT Community for Equal Rights” community.
“We demand support and acceptance. We are not imaginary, we are living people and we need a law on civil partnerships so that we can live like others,” said Dmytro, who came to the Kyiv Pride march on crutches after being injured at the front.
Representatives of Western diplomatic missions were also present at the Kyiv Pride parade. The event was protected by heavy police presence. After the march ended, the organizers asked its participants not to walk around the city with colorful flags symbolizing their movement, but to take the subway home. Previously, it was warned that nationalist groups might protest against the parade.
Agency France-Presse reported:
Hundreds gather in Kyiv for war-shrouded Pride march
Under the pouring rain and overshadowed by war, Dina Ivanova joined the few hundred who gathered in Kyiv on Sunday for the Ukrainian capital’s first Pride march since the Russian invasion, guarded by a heavy police presence.
Shortly after Ivanova and other participants dispersed after a brief rally that took place behind a police cordon, nationalist militants set off for a counter-demonstration through the streets of Kyiv where they shouted homophobic slurs.
The opposing rallies took place more than two years into the war, which is often portrayed as an existential fight to join European liberal values, though some of Ukraine remains deeply conservative.
“Even through the attacks, we need to come and show up. We are such a country, such a nation, we don’t give up. If our rights are taken, we fight for them,” said 27-year-old Ivanova.
She contrasted the situation in Ukraine with that of Russia, where the Kremlin has accelerated its repression of the LGBTQ community since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022.
“I’m very happy that I live in a country where I can even go to Pride,” Ivanova said.
“Those damned Russians can’t.”
The timing and location of the Pride march had not been publicly announced until Sunday morning for security reasons.
