(Kyiv) In the pouring rain, Dina Ivanova joined several hundred people who gathered in Kyiv on Sunday for the first gay pride march since the Russian invasion, under heavy police protection because of the war and nationalist groups.
Shortly after the march was dispersed, nationalist activists protested by marching through the Ukrainian capital, shouting homophobic insults.
“Despite the attacks, we must not hesitate to come and show ourselves. We are that kind of country, that kind of nation, we do not give up. If our rights are violated, we defend them,” says Dina Ivanova, 27.
She compares the situation in Ukraine to Russia where the Kremlin, since launching its assault on Ukraine in February 2022, has increased repression against LGBTQ people.
“I’m happy to live in a country where I can even go to Gay Pride. Those damn Russians can’t do it,” she said.
For security reasons, the location and time of the start of the demonstration were not revealed until Sunday morning.
In the end, about 500 people were counted in this largely static march in a closed area, chanting “Arm Ukraine now!” and “Unite towards victory!”
Participants included several openly gay service members, including Private Petro Zherukha, 28, who was allowed by his unit to participate in Pride.
Polls show that gays, lesbians and transgender people have become increasingly accepted in the country since the start of the war, and that openly gay soldiers do not hesitate to enlist in the armed forces.
“For many classmates, I was the first openly LGBT person they saw. It was as if they had come into contact with an alien,” says Mr. Zherukha. “They were asking a lot of questions, but after talking a lot, everything became very cool.”
Among the demonstrators, there were many demanding the official authorization in the country of civil partnerships between people of the same sex.
The lack of a legal framework for same-sex couples means that partners of killed or injured LGBTQ soldiers may not be informed of what happened to their loved ones.
“Is it fair when people are sacrificing their lives? No,” says Marlene Scandal, a drag queen crowned with rainbow flowers and a blue and yellow Ukrainian trident.
The issue of same-sex marriage, however, sparked controversy among nationalists, who shortly afterwards organised a counter-demonstration.
At the end of Gay Pride, a few hundred activists marched down Khreshchatyk Avenue, towards the now empty street where the parade had taken place.
Police escorted them as they marched peacefully, shouting slogans against Russia and death threats against gays.
One of the organizers of this countermarch, who stood next to a man wearing a cap decorated with a swastika, denied that the death threats were homophobic.
Oleksandr Tymoshenko, 21, a member of the Right Sector youth group, said he was not protesting against homosexuals, but against the LGBTQ movement who “want to get special rights.”
According to him, Ukraine has its place in Europe, but closer to countries like Poland or Hungary.
“All Eastern European countries, and especially the post-Soviet states, are characterized by conservatism and tradition. Ukraine is no exception to the rule,” he said.
But for Dina Ivanova, “these [conservative] values are not ours […] there is nothing traditional about hatred.”