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Adam Zivo: Kyiv Pride defied Russian missiles and counterprotesters

Pride attendees, including LGBT soldiers, marched for equality despite counterprotesters and the threat of Russian missiles

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KYIV, UKRAINE — Thousands marched in Kyiv Pride last Sunday, despite the threat of Russian bombings and nationalist counterprotesters, in a spectacle that epitomized Ukraine’s Europeanization. Their message was clear: although Ukrainian society increasingly accepts LGBT people, the government is failing to keep pace and deliver overdue reforms.

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Pride marches are not new to the city — the first one was attempted in 2012, after then-president Viktor Yanukovych proposed a Kremlin-inspired “gay propaganda” law that would’ve criminalized public LGBT activism. It was aborted when thousands of counterprotesters arrived with bats and other weapons, but foreign diplomats and journalists joined in subsequent years, forcing local police to provide proper security.

Adam Zivo: Kyiv Pride defied Russian missiles and counterprotesters Back to video

Attendance steadily grew over time —  especially after the 2014 pro-western Euromaidan Revolution — such that, by 2021, 7,000 marchers were met by only a few hundred counterprotesters. Although Kyiv Pride was paused after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it resumed last year at a smaller, wartime scale of 1,500.

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Security was a significant concern in the days before the march this year. Counterprotesters were anticipated, but it was believed that the risk of military conscription would deter hooliganism. Ukraine had bombed Moscow’s main oil refineries a few days earlier, though, and retaliation was expected: could a Russian drone or missile turn pride into a mass casualty event?

On the morning of the march, I passed by Maidan Square —  the very heart of the capital —  and stumbled upon the ultra-nationalist counterprotesters, who had assembled beside the forest of flags that memorialize Ukraine’s wartime dead.

There were around 700 to 900 young men, predominantly below conscription age, dressed in black with their faces covered by scarves, hoods and sunglasses. They were organized into a long, battalion-like formation, five rows deep, which terminated in a group carrying sky blue flags and a banner —  labelled “God’s Order” —  that compared gay rights to Satanism.

The young men roared slogans and thumped their........

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