Kyiv Pride boss tells global LGBT+ community ‘we need you’ after Russia invades Ukraine

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The executive director of Kyiv Pride has urged the international LGBT+ community to help Ukraine after Russia declared war.

Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a “military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday morning (24 February), met with widespread shock and condemnation across the world.

Explosions could reportedly be heard across the country, while Ukraine’s foreign minister warned that a “full-scale invasion” had begun.

Speaking with GlitterBeam, a global LGBT+ radio station, director of Kyiv Pride Lenny Emson said the situation in Ukraine is one of “panic” and “anxiety”, urging listeners to provide “international political support”.

In an interview with Eugenio Ceriello from a safe location, Emson said: “This is not an easy situation to be in.

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“Of course, there is some anxiety, there is some panic, we’re all people, but first of all, we’re angry and we’re ready to fight. We want this to end. We want peace.”

Emson explained that while “we would not say that we [the LGBT+ community in Ukraine] are totally fully accepted in society”, the country has made progress in terms of LGBT+ rights, which an invasion by Russia could strip back. He said: “We started our first Pride in 2012, so this year will be the 10th anniversary of the Pride march in Kyiv. Right now, we are in the situation when our parliament now is looking at voting for the anti-LGBT+ hate crime legislation that would really free us of hate crimes… we are discussing now the possibility of introducing equal marriages for same-sex couples in Ukraine. “We understand that LGBT+ Pride will be the first target for Russia… but we believe in the Ukrainian army that has been fighting already for 24 hours holding Russia back. We want to hope and we want to believe that the international community will stand up and help us in this fight. “We don’t want to believe that Ukraine will be Russia. There is no space for human rights in that country. We don’t want Ukraine to be the same, and we are going to fight against it.”

If you have missed our interview with the Director of @KyivPride you can listen again at this link