Kharkiv activists hold annual Pride event
Upwards of 60 people participated in a Pride event that activists organized in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday. A press release that Kharkiv Pride released notes 13 cars “drove along one of the city’s main avenues to raise awareness about the need to uphold human rights and secure international support for the defense and recovery of Kharkiv.” Kharkiv, which is Ukraine’s second-largest city, is less than 30 miles from the Russian border in the eastern part of the country.
Russia has repeatedly targeted the city since the Kremlin launched its war against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. A Russian airstrike on March 1, 2022, killed Elvira Schemur, an LGBTQ rights activist who volunteered for Kharkiv Pride and Kyiv Pride, a group that is in the Ukrainian capital.
Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, a transgender American journalist who is now a member of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, arrived in Kharkiv eight days after Schemur’s death.
The Kharkiv Pride press release notes “several “LGBTQ+ soldiers participated in the march.” “We need to show visibility that there are LGBTQ+ people in the army,” said Vlad, an LGBTQ soldier identified by the call sign “Sapsan,” in the Kharkiv Pride press release. “Those who attend the march represent the voices of those on the front lines and, sadly, those who are no longer with us.” Kharkiv Pride in its press release expressed support for bills that would legally recognize same-sex couples and add sexual orientation and gender identity to Ukraine’s hate crimes law.
