Ukrainian LGBT+ soldiers fight war and fight for legal rights

At Kyiv’s Pride march, LGBT+ members of the Ukrainian armed forces led the procession, displaying photographs of comrades killed fighting the Russian invasion. The parade was met with counter‑demonstrations by masked ultra‑right groups.

A new civil‑code draft, approved in a first reading, re‑affirms marriage as a union between a man and a woman, stripping same‑sex partners of military benefits such as hospital visitation, compensation and decision‑making rights. About 600 LGBT+ soldiers belong to a movement symbolised by a unicorn patch, including 27‑year‑old Victoria, a drone‑unit commander, 23‑year‑old Arina, who plans to enlist to serve alongside her partner Anna, and 35‑year‑old combat medic Oksana, who returned from abroad to defend her country.

A Kyiv sociological institute poll shows support for equal LGBT+ rights rising to over 78 % in 2025 from 64 % in 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated openness to discussing LGBT+ rights in early June, though activists remain skeptical.