Ukraine just celebrated its first LGBTI Pride outside Kiev

‘Now the whole world sees that Odessa is really an open and safe city. A city in which there is a place for all.’ Ukraine held its first Pride March outside Kiev at the weekend – and it went without any major incidents. On Saturday (13 August), between 50 and 100 marchers came together on

European Parliament gravely concerned over situation LGBTI people in Crimea

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Crimea and the severe restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The resolution starts out by strongly condemning “the unprecedented levels of human rights abuses perpetrated against Crimean residents” (paragraph 2) following the Russian annexation. Zooming in on LGBTI rights,

Sexual orientation and gender identity have been included as protected grounds in the anti-discrimination section of Ukraine’s Labour Code. This important milestone for LGBTI people in Ukraine was reached when 234 members of the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, voted to add the anti-discrimination clause to the Code earlier today (Thursday, 12 November). This was the third

Elton John Urges LGBT Acceptance in Ukraine

Elton John has called on Ukrainians to be more accepting of LGBT people, and he would like to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage him to improve the situation in his nation as well. Policies “designed to repress LGBT citizens … hinder economic development,” the music star and activist told a meeting of

Ukrainian LGBT group’s community center attacked

A Ukrainian LGBT advocacy group said a group of people attacked one of their community centers past Monday. Gay Alliance Ukraine in a press release said a group of at least six people wearing masks threw fireworks into their community center in the city of Kryvyi Rih at around 8:30 p.m. as a meeting was

Ukrainian court bans Pride march

A Ukrainian court last week banned an LGBT Pride march that had been scheduled to take place in the city of Odessa on Saturday. The Odessa District Administrative Court issued its ruling in response to a petition from city lawmakers on Aug. 13, based on what Radio Free Europe described as the potential “real danger

Police injured during clashes at Ukraine Pride march

Ten people were injured on Saturday during clashes that broke out at an LGBT Pride march in the Ukrainian capital. Agence France-Presse reported that nine Kiev police officers suffered injuries when members of Pravy Sektor (Right Sector), a Ukrainian nationalist group, sought to disrupt the “March for Equality” event that took place along the Dnieper

“Anti-propaganda” law in Ukraine withdrawn from the Parliament agenda

In January 2015 the Ukrainian Parliament withdrew the draft of so-called “homosexuality anti-propaganda” law (8711/0945) from its agenda. According to information from Ukrainian partners, the law 8711/0945 was not included in the agenda of the Ukrainian Parliament for its current session. This means that Parliament will not get back to discussions about this legislative initiative.

Crimea ‘does not need gays’, says most senior politician

De facto Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov made the comments yesterday speaking to Interfax and Itar-Tass during a government session.He said: “We in Crimea do not need such people.”Continuing to say what would happen if the LGBT community attempted to hold a public gathering, he said: “Our police and self-defence forces will react immediately and in

Ukraine: Kyiv Pride cancelled after authorities refuse to police event

This year’s Pride March in Kyiv, Ukraine – which was due to take place on July 6 – was cancelled after authorities told the organizing committee they could not protect participants from homophobic violence. The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klichko, claimed that this was not the time for “entertainment events” in Ukraine, following unrest in the