(Photo courtesy of Kharkiv Pride)
LGBTQ activists in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv will hold a series of Pride events in the coming days.
A press release that Kharkiv Pride released notes events that will take place from Sept. 17-25 include a march, a performance that highlights efforts to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in Ukraine and a “Memorial Day” for “LGBTQI+ people killed by the Russian Federation.”
Kharkiv Pride and Kharkiv with You Charitable Foundation, a local NGO, will also hold “a crowdfunding campaign to collect money for the needs of women serving near Kharkiv.”
“Just as Kharkiv stands at the forefront of Ukraine’s struggle for freedom and democracy, Kharkiv Pride actively resists at the forefront of the battle for human rights,” said Kharkiv Pride. “Because this is our principal position, and this is the difference between Ukraine and the totalitarian regime of the Russian Federation.”
We announce the events of Pride Week in Kharkiv📣
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KharkivPride is not only a march, it is a whole week of pride events dedicated to the current topic of the LGBTGI+ community in the Kharkiv region and throughout Ukraine.https://t.co/mDQPlBTf7u pic.twitter.com/7nophxQobD— KharkivPride / Sphere NGO (@KharkivPride) September 14, 2022
Kharkiv, which is Ukraine’s second-largest city, is less than 30 miles from the Russian border in the eastern part of the country.
A Russian airstrike on March 1 killed Elvira Schemur, an LGBTQ and intersex activist who was a volunteer for Kharkiv Pride and Kyiv Pride.
Ukrainian forces in recent weeks have recaptured large swaths of territory east of Kharkiv that had been under Russian control. Kharkiv Pride will also take place less than two months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky announced his support for a civil partnership law for same-sex couples.
