“I’ve been open about my sexual orientation all my life,” says Roman Abrashyn, a 25-year-old homosexual drone pilot 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 serves in the same unit.
Abrashyn enlisted in the Ukrainian armed forces in April 2024. Since then, he’s hardly faced any prejudice or discrimination. When fellow soldiers found out about his sexual orientation, most of them reacted neutrally, he recalls. “There were no strange questions.”
He is more worried that hundreds of openly LGBTQ+ soldiers in Ukraine don’t enjoy the same rights as their heterosexual comrades. The abbreviation LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, and queer people, but also includes those with other identities, such as people who are intersex, asexual, bisexual or transgender.
Unequal treatment of LGBTQ+ partners
Soldiers from Abrashyn’s unit have made themselves at home among crates full of drones in a simple building. Abrashyn is the commander of a group of drone pilots who mostly work from basements and cellars, as they are constantly being targeted. Nowadays they are stationed in the Sumy region, previously they were in the Kherson area.
Recently, Abrashyn started dating a civilian, however, it is not possible to register same-sex partnerships in Ukraine. In the case of his death, his partner would not be entitled to compensation. “Also, if I was in intensive care, he would not have any rights,” he complains. In his view, this is patently unfair: “We fight like everyone else, but are not legally equal,” he told DW.
No progress on civil partnerships law
The bill on registered partnerships is one of the central demands of the LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine. Such a law would allow partners to receive medical information or inherit or receive social benefits in the event of death. However, it has been under discussion in the committees of the Ukrainian parliament for over two years.
The bill was introduced by Inna Sowsun, an opposition MP. She told DW that the law is being blocked by the Legal Affairs Committee. According to Sowsun, the parliament is conservative, with just under a third of MPs categorically against registered partnerships and just over a third in favor. The rest are either hesitant due to concerns about the reaction of the public and colleagues or have no opinion at all. “For LGBTQ+ soldiers, this is an urgent issue as their lives are always in danger,” Sowsun told DW.
Military LGBTQ+ discrimination
The 19-year-old Dmytro, who asked DW to not publish his last name for fear of retribution, has been serving in the army for about a year. He describes himself as asexual, likes both men and women and seeks romantic rather than sexual relationships. However, when Dmytro’s sexual orientation became known in his brigade, problems arose. “I was threatened with physical violence,” he told DW. In a chat shown to DW, a comrade advises him to “look for another unit” and threatens to explain the reasons “very clearly so that it will be remembered for a long time”.
Such harassment drove Dmytro to attempt suicide. After doctors saved his life, he filed a complaint with the police, but without success. “To this day, there hasn’t even been a response,” he told DW. Eventually, he managed to get transferred to another brigade. The young man says he also knows of cases from other units where higher-ranking comrades tried to quickly transfer an LGBTQ+ soldier to another unit after finding out about his sexual orientation.
Accountability for assaults
Nevertheless, Dmytro observes that attitudes in the army are gradually shifting and says he has had positive experiences. “When the commander of a brigade found out about my sexual orientation, he supported me and said he would never insult or discriminate against me,” Dmytro recalls.
In addition to the draft law on registered partnerships, the Ukrainian LGBTQ+ community is also fighting for the introduction of criminal liability for crimes based on intolerance, especially homophobia. Dmytro criticizes that attacks on LGBTQ+ people are usually dismissed as ‘hooliganism’ and are punished too leniently. A draft law that prioritizes hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community has been in parliament since 2021, however, it is still in discussion.
Shifting attitudes towards LGBTQ+
Viktor Pylypenko, veteran and head of the NGO Ukrainian LGBT+ Military and Veterans for Equal Rights, was one of the first Ukrainian soldiers to openly admit his homosexuality. He urges parliament to stop delaying laws to support the LGBTQ+ community. Pylypenko also complains that politicians say that the Ukrainian society is not ready for change, which he cannot understand.
The activist points out that support for LGBTQ+ people is on the rise. According to a study conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) from June 2024, more than 70% of Ukrainians are in favor of LGBTQ+ people having the same rights as all citizens. According to the same survey, 14% have a positive attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community, 47% a neutral one and 32% a negative one. The last indicator has been steadily declining since 2015.
A charity event organized by the KyivPride organization in early June featured the usual, albeit small, protests. Activists drew attention to the rights of LGBTQ+ people near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv and raised money for the Ukrainian army. Supporters of traditional values rallied alongside. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine later criticized the fact that the LGBTQ+ event took place near St. Michael’s Cathedral and described it as an “anti-clerical provocation.”
Hope placed on military ombudsman
The NGO led by Viktor Pylypenko counts more than 600 military personnel and veterans among its members. According to their information, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or asexual people serve in at least 59 units of the Ukrainian army. It is impossible to determine the exact number as many do not talk about their sexual orientation. According to a study by Pylypenko’s NGO, based on estimates in other countries, the proportion of LGBTQ+ soldiers in the Ukrainian army could be between 5% and 10%.
There is a lack of rules against discrimination, meaning that the rights of LGBTQ+ soldiers and military personnel go unprotected, Pylypenko says. He hopes that the situation will improve with the planned appointment of a military ombudsman.
Drone pilot Roman Abrashyn argues that the more LGBTQ+ people talk about themselves and their problems, the faster change will occur. “This is important, even if there is a wave of hatred,” he told DW. The soldier Dmytro agrees with him. Above all, both of them, like most soldiers, want Russia’s enduring war in Ukraine to end. “I just want my brothers, my loved ones, civilians and children to stop dying,” says Dmytro.
This article was originally published in Ukrainian.
