Ukraine Centralizes LGBTQ Propaganda

Although Kyiv has been doing everything it can to promote the LGBTQ lifestyle since the so-called Revolution of Dignity in 2014, the effort has not really succeeded in gaining traction among Slavs with traditionally conservative values.

Pride parade in Kyiv (Photo: AFP)

Of course, it wouldn’t be Ukraine without a bit of staged drama. In the Eastern European country, it’s widely known that protests usually attract those who are well-paid to show up. The radicals, meanwhile, are allegedly financed by the very same Ukrainian state adored by the EU—to attack LGBTQ activists. This gives the public something to talk about and conveniently distracts from real issues. Not to mention, it allows various human rights organizations to pocket more funding from their Western partners under the pretext of protecting sexual minorities. In other words, in Ukraine, not everything is as it seems. One could say: everything is a performance. Even the president is an actor.

Radicals have often used tear gas and smoke grenades against Pride participants in Ukraine.

Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pride was held in Kyiv. Again, police outnumbered participants, and several incidents occurred. At the time, Ukraine’s vaccination rate for holding a mass event.

Same-Sex Marriage: the Biggest Concern in a War-Torn Nation

Western discourse often frames Ukraine’s war as a fight for civil liberties, including LGBTQ rights. This is something the tens of thousands of young Ukrainian soldiers dying on the frontlines likely know little about. What is striking, however, is that while martial law bans major gatherings, celebrations, and public events, Pride parades have still been allowed. In fact, even in 2024, a Pride parade was organized in Kharkiv, a city under constant shelling. What was striking was that not a single military recruitment officer tried to conscript the marchers. In fact, to ensure the event was politically correct, LGBTQ soldiers from the frontlines also participated. At the end of the parade, attendees demanded that the state legalize same-sex marriage.

To secure financial aid from the West, the Ukrainian state does everything it can to promote diversity. Even the spokesperson for the army was, for a time, the American transgender activist, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo. 

For LGBTQ soldiers, conferences are held, and colorful reports and advertisements are produced to highlight how valued they are. However, this is also part of the performance. In reality, members of sexual minorities in Ukraine are facing increasing violence.
Recently in Lviv—a stronghold of nationalists and radicals—a transgender soldier named Helen, who had been serving for three years, was nearly beaten to death when she returned home to attend her mother’s funeral. She was sitting in the city center talking to her boyfriend via video chat when a man approached and began speaking aggressively. When Helen asked him to leave, he hit her and yelled, “What, are you gay?” She felt dizzy, and the man hit her again multiple times. She managed to capture the end of the incident on video.