“I am open about my sexual orientation throughout my life,” says Roman Abrachin, a 25 -year -old gay drone in the Ukrainian Army. After coming out at the age of 15, he was supported by friends, his parents and two brothers, one of whom now works in the same unit.Arrashyn admitted to Ukrainian Armed Forces in April 2024. Since then, he hardly faced any prejudice or discrimination. When fellow soldiers came to know about their sexual orientation, most of them reacted neutrally, remembering. “There were no strange questions.” He is more concerned that hundreds of LGBTQ+ soldiers in Ukraine do not enjoy equal rights to their heterosexual colleagues. The brief name LGBTQ+ stands for gay, gay and queue people, but it also includes other identity people, such as people who are intersex, asexual, bisexual or transgender.
LGBTQ+ uneven treatment of partners
The soldiers of Abrachin’s unit made themselves at home in a simple building amidst boxed boxes. Abrachin is a group commander of drone pilots who mostly work from the basement and basement, as they are constantly being targeted. Nowadays he is posted in Sumi region, first he was in the Kherson area.Recently, Abrachin began dating a citizen, however, it is not possible to register the same-sex partnership in Ukraine. In the case of his death, his partner would not be entitled to compensation. “In addition, if I were in deep care, he had no rights,” he complains. In his view, it is unfairly inappropriate: “We fight like all, but are not legally equal,” he told DW.
No progress on civil participation law
Bill on registered participation is one of the central demands of the LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine. Such laws will allow partners to get medical information or get social benefits in the event of death or receive social benefits. However, it has been discussing the committees of Ukrainian Parliament for more than two years.The bill was introduced by an opposition MP Inna Sowsun. He told DW that the law is being blocked by the committee of legal matters. According to Sovasun, Parliament is a conservative, in which it is clearly under one third of MPs against registered participation and in favor of more than just one third. The rest are either hesitant or have no opinion due to concerns about the response of the public and colleagues. “For LGBTQ+ soldiers, this is an important issue because his life is always in danger,” Sovasun told DW.
Military lgbtq+ discrimination
The 19 -year -old DMYTRO, who asked DW not to publish his last name for fear of vengeance, has been serving the army for almost a year. He describes himself as asexual, prefers both men and women and wants romantic instead of sexual relations. However, when the sexual orientation of Dmytro is known in their brigade, problems arose. “I was threatened with physical violence,” he told DW. In a chat shown to DW, a Comrade recommends him to “search for another unit” and threaten to explain the reasons very clearly “so that it is remembered for a long time”.Such harassment fired DMYTRO to attempt suicide. After saving his life, doctors lodged a complaint with the police, but without success. “To date, there is no response,” he told DW. Eventually, he managed to move to another brigade. The young man says that he also knows about the cases of other units, where high-ranked companions tried to quickly move an LGBTQ+ soldier to another unit after finding out about their sexual orientation.
Accountability for attack
Nevertheless, DMYTRO believes that attitudes in the army are slowly shifting and say they have positive experiences. “When the commander of a brigade came to know about my sexual orientation, he supported me and said he would never insult or discriminate with me,” DMYTRO misses.In addition to the draft law on registered participation, the Ukrainian LGBTQ+ community is also fighting for intolerance, especially for the onset of criminal liabilities for crimes based on homophobia. DMYTRO criticized that attacks on LGBTQ+ people are usually rejected as ‘hooliganism’ and are very generously punished. A draft law that prefer hatred crimes against the LGBTQ+ community has been in Parliament since 2021, however, it is still under discussion.
Shifting approach to LGBTQ+
NGO Ukrainian LGBT+ Military and equal rights veteran veteran Victor Pylepenco, veteran for equal rights, was one of the first Ukrainian soldiers who openly accepted their homosexuality. He urges Parliament to stop delaying laws to support the LGBTQ+ community. Pylypenko also complains that politicians say that Ukrainian society is not ready for change, which he cannot understand.Activists say that support for LGBTQ+ people is increasing. According to a study conducted by Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) since June 2024, more than 70 percent of Ukrainians are in favor of LGBTQ+, who have equal rights to all citizens. According to this survey, 14per St. has a positive attitude towards LGBTQ+ community, 47 percent is one neutral one and 32 percent is a negative. The final indicator has been continuously decreasing since 2015.A charity event organized by the KyivPride organization in early June painted normal, although small, protests were depicted. The activists attracted attention to the rights of LGBTQ+ people with the Ministry of External Affairs in Kiev and raised funds for the Ukrainian army. Supporters of traditional values held a rally together. Ukraine’s Orthodox Church later criticized the fact that LGBTQ+ event occurred near St. Michael Cathedral and described it as a “deadly anti -incomplete”.,
Hope placed on military Lokpal
NGO led by Victor Pylypenko counts over 600 military personnel and veterans among his members. According to their information, gay, gay, bisexual, transgender, quarrous or asexual people serve in at least 59 units of the Ukrainian army. It is impossible to determine the exact number because many do not talk about their sexual orientation. According to a study by Pylypenko’s NGO, depending on estimates in other countries, the ratio of LGBTQ+ soldiers in the Ukrainian army can be between 5per percent and 10 percent.There is a lack of rules against discrimination, which means that the rights of LGBTQ+ soldiers and military personnel are unsafe, Pylipenco is called. He hopes that the situation will improve with a planned appointment of a military Lokpal.Drone pilot Roman Abrachin argues that more LGBTQ+ people talk about themselves and their problems, there will be rapid changes. “This is important, even if there is a wave of hatred,” he told DW. Soldier DMYTRO agrees. Above these, both, like most soldiers, want to end Russia’s permanent war in Ukraine. “I just want to stop dying of my brothers, my loved ones, citizens and children,” says Dimtro.
