OPINION: Ukraine’s Other Revolution: Embracing the Rights Russia Would Deny

Putin’s Russia has become the poster child in the fight against the global LGBTQ movement, labeling any activists “extremists” and criminalizing any associated activities within its borders. As Russia wages this all-out assault against anything remotely queer, Ukraine is instead embracing our community as an indispensable part of their war effort, and moving toward a European standard of human rights. 

While the march toward equality in Ukraine is far from over, the government has made enormous strides through public overtures that bring LGBTQ people, especially in the military, into the mainstream. The ongoing war has presented an opportunity to showcase the self-sacrifice, bravery, and patriotism of queer military members, who are being positioned to become prominent stakeholders in a post-war Ukraine. The rainy June Pride Parade in Kyiv united around 500 service members, many of whom were given permission by their commanders to attend.

Ukrainian society isn’t all aboard on LGBTQ equality, as pride activists are still met with counter-protestors who see liberation as a threat to traditional values. Still, Ukraine is a world away from neighboring Russia, where national decrees translate into crackdowns on venues serving gay clientele and round-ups of suspected activists who are already in pre-trial custody and facing up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

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Ukraine is, instead, to radically differentiate itself from Russia, moving toward a European standard of human rights, which inevitably includes the recognition and normalization of the LGBTQ community. For instance, last year, the Ukrainian Justice Ministry approved a bill to establish “voluntary family unions” for couples regardless of gender. This contrast paints a picture of two societies that are moving in diametrically opposing directions when it comes to gay rights.

Aspirations for eventual European Union integration are fueling this monumental shift toward equality in Ukrainian society. Simultaneously, public opinion has shifted toward acceptance of same-sex partnerships, and numerous civil organizations have been allowed to thrive during wartime conditions, such as the Union of LGBT Military (an association of Ukrainian military, veterans, and volunteers formed in 2018). Ukraine is going in the right direction, and these strides will be hard to undo.

The continued support of the United States and the European Union in the war against Russia will help galvanize Ukraine’s acceptance of LGBTQ rights. American aid programs like President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (founded by President George W. Bush), which helps serve the more than 260,000 Ukrainians living with HIV, set the example for how the civilized world treats its LGBTQ citizens. Russia will continue to demonize our community, which will help lay out a powerful alternative for Ukraine.

As is the case globally, progress is often a slow, messy, and violent process, building incrementally on prior shifts toward acceptance. Still, we cannot underestimate the Ukrainian government’s soft support for LGBTQ citizens in wartime. The existential crisis of war has opened a window of opportunity for equality that will continue to progress long after the action on the battlefield has concluded.

Perhaps Ukraine finds itself in a political situation that bares similarities to the United States during the Obama years, where the pathway to same-sex marriage was a matter of bureaucratic proceedings needing to catch up with public sentiment. However, no outcome is ever preordained, and change only happens if activists fight for it.

Today’s LGBTQ activists in Ukraine face not only a slow-moving bureaucracy but bullets on the battlefield – from an adversary who imprisons people like them for the simple crime of being who they are. When these activists return to Kyiv between deployments, they march at Pride protests in the rain and face counter-protesters to ensure the future being built in Ukraine is one representing them.

There isn’t much more commitment to human rights than that. 

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.