LGBT troops on Ukraine's front line fight homophobia at home

One country of Kyiv’s symbolic cardinal quadrate is present carpeted successful thousands of tiny bluish and yellowish flags, successful tribute to Ukraine’s fallen soldiers. Earlier this month, a radical of activists gathered to adhd a antithetic benignant of emblem to the ever-growing collection. They had unicorns successful their centre, to correspond each cheery worker that had been killed successful the war.

The deaths of LGBT soldiers successful Ukraine person exposed an inequality. They bash not person the aforesaid rights arsenic heterosexual troops. Gay matrimony is illegal, meaning erstwhile these soldiers are killed, their partners bash not person the close to determine what happens to their bodies, nor are they entitled to authorities support.

A 30-year-old costume designer, Rodion, had travel to works a emblem successful honour of his erstwhile fellow Roman, who was killed successful the aboriginal months of the invasion, the time earlier his 22nd birthday.

Roman and 5 others from his brigade died successful a rocket onslaught adjacent Kupiansk, adjacent to Kharkiv, aft a section household leaked their presumption to the Russians.

“All this death, each this blood, it’s the same, whether you’re heterosexual oregon homosexual," Rodion said, but helium was abruptly chopped abbreviated by the acquainted whir of aerial raid sirens.

“See?” helium continued, pointing to the sky. "Missiles tin termination america successful the aforesaid mode they tin everyone else." The warfare has injected an urgency into the combat for equality. “I’ve waited 30 years, I can’t hold different 30, due to the fact that I can’t warrant I’ll beryllium live erstwhile this ends," Rodion said.

Attitudes to LGBT rights person shifted enormously implicit the past decade, arsenic Ukraine has embraced European values, though galore inactive clasp socially blimpish and adjacent homophobic views.

Having openly cheery radical warring and dying connected the beforehand enactment has further challenged people’s prejudices. But meaningful alteration is harder to see.

Hopes were precocious past spring, erstwhile a measure to let same-sex couples to person civilian partnerships was introduced to parliament, but 14 months aboriginal it has stalled.

Meanwhile, LGBT soldiers person reported being bullied and harassed successful their units.

When Mariya Volya astir died defending her hometown of Mariupol successful 2022, present nether Russian occupation, she decided it was clip to travel out.

Although the 31-year-old had been serving successful the service since 2015, the full-scale Russian penetration shifted her threshold for fear. Revealing her sexuality was nary longer thing she was acrophobic to reveal.

Mariya posted her coming retired connected a TikTok relationship for LGBT soldiers. When her commandant saw the station helium told her to delete it. Then she received a torrent of online hatred from anti-LGBT activists. Mariya transferred units and present works successful the Donetsk region, adjacent the eastbound front, arsenic a vigor technologist for the 47th brigade.

But inactive she has to tract discriminatory comments. "Why can’t you signifier your ain unit?" immoderate of her chap soldiers ask. She continues to beryllium harassed online and connected the street, to the grade that sometimes she does not consciousness harmless going retired successful her subject uniform, lest she is recognised.

But connected 16 June, portion connected a interruption from the beforehand line, Mariya enactment connected her khaki camouflaged trousers, to be the archetypal Pride march to beryllium held successful Kyiv since the commencement of the invasion.

Alongside her fiancée Diana, Mariya joined successful the chorus chanting for “victory and equality”. “We person 2 demands. More weapons and civilian partnerships," the organisers shouted.

Legalising cheery matrimony is not presently an option, arsenic this requires changing the constitution, which is not imaginable portion Ukraine is nether martial law.

“I can’t regularisation retired thing superior happening to me, and I privation my fiancée to beryllium provided for, to beryllium protected," Mariya said.

As she was speaking, Diana shifted uncomfortably and looked away. “I don’t similar it erstwhile you speech similar that," she said.

But Diana understands the risk. When Mariya calls her from the beforehand line, she tin perceive the explosions successful the background. “We similar to support successful interaction arsenic overmuch arsenic we can, but I don’t archer her everything I’m experiencing," Mariya said, acknowledging it would scare her excessively much.

Mariya and Diana were joined, successful the lashing rain, by astir a twelve LGBT soldiers. For immoderate it was their archetypal Pride march, and they had been fixed peculiar support by their commanders to be for the day. This would person been unthinkable successful 2021.

One mates was utilizing the parade to travel retired to their families and subject units. “This is simply a precise affectional time for us," they told me, not acceptable to uncover their names publicly. “We are arrogant we’ve been capable to amusement radical that determination are tons of america cheery soldiers, and that we are connected the beforehand lines defending Ukraine."

The BBC has asked Ukraine’s subject astir the attraction of LGBT soldiers, but has not yet received a response.

Much of the enactment to summation the visibility of LGBT soldiers connected the beforehand enactment has been done by Viktor Pylypenko, the archetypal openly cheery worker successful the Ukrainian army, who went nationalist astir his sexuality successful 2018.

The combat medic built an online community, encouraging serving soldiers to stock their experiences connected Instagram, aft noticing that erstwhile helium told radical who helium rescued from tiny front-line villages that helium was gay, they often became much accepting.

“People’s attitudes are changing due to the fact that they’ve heard our stories. For illustration determination are galore cheery soldiers operating the air-defence systems successful Kyiv and radical are truthful grateful to them," helium said.

Viktor acknowledges that his assemblage has been fixed a helping manus by Vladimir Putin, who, successful his fixation with promoting accepted household values, has made homophobia portion of his ideology. Ukrainians privation to defy him immoderate mode they can.

“This is simply a warfare of values, and radical recognize that if we privation to proceed our integration into Europe, to articulation the EU, to articulation Nato, past we should clasp wide values," Viktor said.

But still, the absorption to alteration is fierce. The Pride lawsuit was tightly policed, partially truthful arsenic not to go a Russian target, but besides due to the fact that of the information posed by anti-LGBT groups, which person disrupted the marches each year. Only 500 radical were allowed to attend.

Limited to a tiny spot of pavement, which had been cordoned disconnected and surrounded by constabulary vans, the marchers managed conscionable a fewer twelve steps earlier being ushered underground into the metro, arsenic far-right counter-protesters swooped in, chanting convulsive homophobic slurs.

“The radical of radical who are against america is small, but they are loud, and they are becoming much active," said Viktor earlier boarding a train. He did not consciousness harmless to instrumentality supra ground.

A akin script is playing retired successful parliament. There, the measure connected civilian partnerships has been blocked by a committee of MPs pursuing unit from religion leaders, according to the lawmaker Inna Sovsan, who introduced the authorities past year. In parts of Ukraine, homophobia is reinforced by spiritual beliefs.

"Unfortunately, what we're seeing is that the parliament is much blimpish than society, and alternatively than listening to the public, the politicians are responding to the churches, who are not the majority, but who are precise vocal," said Ms Sovsan.

One subordinate of the ineligible affairs committee, wherever the measure is presently held up, told the BBC that the bulk of the committee members reason the legislation, and are being guided by concerns from churches and their constituents.

MP Mykola Stefanchuk said the bill’s supporters are present trying to triumph its opponents around.

LGBT soldiers and activists are present coming to presumption with the anticipation the warfare mightiness not supply the model for alteration they had hoped for.

The time aft the march, Viktor felt sick. He had convinced himself homophobic protests were a happening of the past. But Mariya and Diana were already disillusioned.

When the measure was archetypal launched, Mariya, filled with hope, had written letters to MPs. But she said she gave up arsenic the process dragged on.

“It’s going to beryllium a agelong road, I think."