LGBTQ Ukrainians are fighting back in the wake of Russian invasion

VII Conference of LGBT movement in Ukraine, 2014
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

To the shock and horror of the rest of the world, Russia has officially launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and many LGBTQ Ukrainians are terrified for their future.

While Ukraine does not fully recognize LGBTQ rights – marriage equality is not legal, for example – the country has come a lot farther than Russia, where LGBTQ people continue to be actively persecuted.

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“Ukraine is a European country. We have a 10-year history of Pride marches, and as you know, in Russia, the situation is like opposite,” Kyiv Pride project assistant Edward Reese told CBS News. “We have totally different paths…We see the changes in people’s thoughts about human rights, LGBTQ, feminism and so on…So definitely we don’t want anything connected to Russia…and we won’t have them.”

Marriage equality is not legal in Russia, nor do anti-discrimination protections exist for LGBTQ people. The country is also infamous for its “gay propaganda” law, which was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2013 and prohibits the distribution/marketing of any LGBTQ content deemed “harmful” to minors.

A Russian occupation of Ukraine would mean…

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