Gay Pride: Kiev holds first gay parade since Russian invasion – Europe

Kiev, Ukraine/Dina Ivanova attended the Kiev hosts first Pride parade since Russian invasionwith heavy police deployments against war and nationalist groups.

Soon after the march dispersed, nationalist militants staged a protest in the Ukrainian capital, chanting homophobic slogans.

“Despite the attacks, we came forward without hesitation to show ourselves. We are such a country and nation, and we will not give up. If they trample on our rights, we will defend them.” said Dina Ivanova, 27, comparing the situation in Ukraine and Russia.

exist RussiaSince the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the government has stepped up its repression against the LGTBQI+ community (lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer, intersex, and others).

“I’m so happy to live in a country where I can even attend a pride parade. These damn Russians can’t“, he claimed.

‘An alien’

Neither the location nor the time of the demonstration was reported until Sunday morning for security reasons.

Finally, some 500 characters They took part in the event, which included rallies in closed areas with slogans such as “Arm Ukraine now!” or “United to victory!”

Among the participants were several openly gay soldiers, such as 28-year-old soldier Petro Zherukha, who had authorization from his unit to participate in the pride parade.

Polls show that gay and transgender people have gained better acceptance in the country since the war began.

“For many gay people, I was the first openly LGBT person they had ever met. It was like they had been exposed to an alien.“, Zherukha said.”They asked a lot of questions, but after we talked a lot, everything became cool.‘” He said.

Many protesters are demanding that the country formally approve civil unions between same-sex couples.

The lack of a legal framework for same-sex couples means that spouses of dead or injured LGTBQI+ soldiers have no way of knowing what happened to their loved ones.

“Is it fair when someone sacrifices their life? Nosaid Marlene Scandal, a drag queen wearing a colorful crown of flowers and holding a blue and yellow Ukrainian trident.

The equal marriage issue caused an uproar among the country’s nationalists, who organized a counter-demonstration.

When the pride parade ended, hundreds of militant extremists marched down Khreshchatyk Boulevard toward the empty street where the gay pride parade was held.

swastika

Police escorted them and the demonstration went smoothly, with participants chanting anti-Russian slogans and threatening to kill homosexuals.

One of the organizers of the counter-demonstration, who marched with a man wearing a hat with a Nazi symbol, denied that the death threats were homophobic.

Oleksander Tymoshenko, a 21-year-old member of the right-wing youth movement, said he was not demonstrating against homosexuals but against the LGTBQ movement “which wants special rights.”

According to him, Ukraine has its place in Europe, but is closer to countries like Poland or Hungary.

“All Eastern European countries, especially post-Soviet countries, are characterized by conservatism and tradition. Ukraine is no exception.” he pointed out.

But, for Dina Ivanova, “those (conservative) values ​​are not (her country’s) values.”

“Hatred has nothing to do with tradition,” he insisted.