Meet Viktor Pylypenko, an LGBT activist who's now a gay soldier on the ont le of the war Ukrae, dodgg Rsian forc.
Contents:
- UKRAE’S GAY COMBAT VOLUNTEERS ARE READY TO FIGHT FOR THEIR LIV AGAST ANTI-LGBTQ PUT
- GAY SOLDIER UKRAE: “IF I’M PTURED, THEY WILL TORTURE ME”
- THE FILM PUT DON’T WANT THE WORLD TO SEE: FIREBIRD, A GAY LOVE STORY ABOUT FIGHTER PILOTS
- RSIAN WARLORD WHO ‘PERSECUTED GAY PEOPLE CHECHNYA’ REPORTEDLY KILLED UKRAE WAR
- THIS GAY TEEN ROMANCE FILM IS SENDG FAR-RIGHTERS INTO A RAGG FRENZY
- BRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS E OF ANTI-GAY SLURTHE TELEGRAPH APPEARED TO DISGUISE HOMOPHOBIC LANGUAGE BY KIEV'S TROOPSBRISH NEWSPAPER THE TELEGRAPH APPEARS TO HAVE VERED UP THE REPEATED E OF AN ANTI-GAY SLUR BY UKRAIAN FIGHTERS A BAT VIO. THE CLIP WAS PUBLISHED BY THE OUTLET ON S YOUTUBE CHANNEL TWO MONTHS AGO, ALTHOUGH QUTNS OVER THE TRANSLATN WERE WILY PICKED UP ONLE ONLY THIS WEEK.THE BODYM FOOTAGE APPEARED TO SHOW RSIAN-SPEAKG UKRAIAN TROOPS REPELLG AN ATTACK ON THEIR POSNS OUTSI THE DONBASS CY OF ARTYOMOVSK (KNOWN UKRAE AS BAKHMUT).SEEMGLY SHOT EARLY SPRG, THE VIO OFFERS LTLE MENTARY ON THE FIGHTG, AND STEAD PROVIS VIEWERS WH PTNS ON THE MUTATN BETWEEN THE UKRAIAN FIGHTERS."RSIAN SOLDIERS ARE REFERRED TO AS 'ORCS' BY THE UKRAIAN FIGHTERS," A PTN BY THE TELEGRAPH CLAIMS EARLY ON THE CLIP.IN REALY, HOWEVER, THE UKRAIAN TROOPS REFER TO THE ATTACKG RSIAN SOLDIERS G A TERM WHICH TRANSLAT AS "F****TS." THE UKRAIAN FIGHTERS E THE SLUR MULTIPLE TIM DURG THE CLOSE-QUARTERS TRENCH GUNFIGHT, WH ALL STANC OF PTNED AS "ORCS."JUDGG BY THE WATERMARKS ON THE VIO, WAS SHOT BY FIGHTERS WH THE SO-LLED DAVCI WOLV UN, A SELF-STYLED ELE MECHANIZED FANTRY BATTALN OF THE UKRAIAN ARY. THE LEAR OF THE UN, NOTOR NEO-NAZI DMRY 'DAVCI' KOTSYUBAILO, WAS KILLED ON THE ONT L EARLY MARCH, AND WAS GRANTED A STATE-LEVEL FUNERAL WH UKRAIAN PRINT VLADIMIR ZELENSKY ATTENDANCE.() !FUNCTN(D,I){IF(!D.GETELEMENTBYID(I)){VAR J=D.CREATEELEMENT("SCRIPT");;";VAR W=D.GETELEMENTBYID(I);(J);}}(DOCUMENT,"POCKET-BTN-JS");BRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS E OF ANTI-GAY SLURBRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS E OF ANTI-GAY SLUR
- GAY LIFE UKRAE 2008
- BRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS' E OF ANTI-GAY SLUR
UKRAE’S GAY COMBAT VOLUNTEERS ARE READY TO FIGHT FOR THEIR LIV AGAST ANTI-LGBTQ PUT
* gay ukrainian fighters *
Dperate to avoid the shadow of Vladimir Put’s bigoted regime fallg over Ukrae, LGBTQ bat volunteers told The Daily Beast that members of the gay muny had been shg to prepare for this vasn of Ukrae recent, they stand ready to fight back and rist a Rsian occupatn if Put’s forc look to rema on Ukraian soil. ”Lima, who works for an NGO promotg equal rights for LGBT people the ary, says the gay muny Ukrae will rist Rsian occupatn spe ntued discrimatn at home. The list reportedly ntas many journalists, LGBTQ+ people, policians, and ernment Kravch, who works at the LGBTQ Nash Sv Center, Kyiv said the impact of Rsia’s homophobia had been felt his hometown the Donbas regn, which he fled after the 2014 vasn.
The anti-gay purge the Rsian republic of Chechnya has driven the LGBTQ muny unrground. Demonstrators lay ros on a rabow flag as they prott over an alleged crackdown on gay men Chechnya outsi the Rsian Embassy London on June 2, 2017. Before the Donbas war, the gay muny was flourishg but sce 2013, Rsia-backed separatists brought creased homophobic rhetoric to the regn.
In many s, the LGBTQ muny faced asslt, tentn, and himself has a history of homophobia.
GAY SOLDIER UKRAE: “IF I’M PTURED, THEY WILL TORTURE ME”
STORY: At their home Kyiv, Ukraian volunteer fighters Oleksandr Zhuhan and Antona Romanova pack for a return to active duty. Their uniform bar a rare distctn - the image of a unirn sewn to s standard-issue eplets, jt below the natnal flag - a symbol of their stat as an LGBTQ uple who are Ukraian pair would not scribe themselv as LGBTQ activists, but they are both open about their sexualy - Romanova intifi as non-bary and she/her says the mythil beast rri an important msage for LGBTQ soldiers. “It dat back to 2014 when Rsian war started, and lots of people jt said there are no gay people the army. And so the LGBTQ muny chose the unirn bee is like a fantastic non-existent creature and so beme the symbol of LGBTQ people the army.”Neher traed to e weapons before the nflict Ukrae began, but after spendg a uple of days hidg their bathroom at the start of the war, Romanova said they cid they had to do more:“I jt remember that at a certa pot beme obv that we only had three optns: eher hi a bomb shelter, n away and pe, or jo the Terrorial Defense. We chose the third optn.”The uple's first tour of duty around Mykolaiv southern Ukrae, approximately 84 om the port town of Osa, changed their liv. They fought the same un - Zhuhan ntracted pnmonia and they risked ath om Rsian artillery. But, they say their fellow fighters accepted them.“There was no aggrsn, no bullyg. A slight surprise, was a ltle unual for the others. But, over time people started llg me Antona, some even ed my “she” pronoun.”However one overridg fear, voiced back their apartment by Zuhan, remas.“The thg I'm worried about is that se I get killed durg this war, they won't allow Antona to bury me the way I want to be buried. They'd rather let my mum bury me wh the prit readg the silly prayers and dog those relig thgs. But I am an atheist and I don’t want that.” * gay ukrainian fighters *
” He also signed a “gay propaganda” law 2013, which pledged to uphold “tradnal valu.
Members of Ukrae's LGBTQ muny who sign up for the war have taken to sewg the image of the mythil beast to their standard-issue eplett jt below the natnal practice harks back to the 2014 nflict when Rsia vad then annexed the Crimean Pensula om Ukrae, "when lots of people said there are no gay people the army, " actor, director and drama teacher Zhuhan told Rters as he and Romanova drsed their apartment for their send three-month bat rotatn.
THE FILM PUT DON’T WANT THE WORLD TO SEE: FIREBIRD, A GAY LOVE STORY ABOUT FIGHTER PILOTS
A pro-Rsian puppet ernment would be ls supportive of gay rights, the activists say, and cints of discrimatn would be likely to rise, as they have Rsian-backed separatist regns. * gay ukrainian fighters *
"So they (the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muny) chose the unirn bee is like a fantastic 'non-existent' creature.
RSIAN WARLORD WHO ‘PERSECUTED GAY PEOPLE CHECHNYA’ REPORTEDLY KILLED UKRAE WAR
Amerin gay uple ridg Ukrae wre about their experience this difficult new natn. * gay ukrainian fighters *
"Zhuhan's unease lifts as one manr mak clear his refal to tolerate homophobia, and a more senr officer says the only important thg on the ont le is to be a good fighter, he subsequently tells Rters by one overridg fear, voiced back their apartment, remas. The untry’s 'gay propaganda' law bans children om beg shown ntent about our liv.
The horrors of the 'gay purge' Chechnya stand out as a ighteng event recent Rsian history. Rsia has a list of “journalists, activists and gay rights advot.
MORE FROM FORBESAn Edor Told Me To 'Stop Pchg Gay Stori' - This Is What I DidBy Jamie Wareham. Gay soldier Viktor Pylypenko is on the ont le Ukrae (Photo: Treasure Island Media).
THIS GAY TEEN ROMANCE FILM IS SENDG FAR-RIGHTERS INTO A RAGG FRENZY
Ls than a month ago, Viktor Pylypenko lived a peaceful life raisg awarens of gay rights issu Ukrae. In an terview wh Treasure Island Media, 35-year-old soldier Viktor has spoken about the addnal threat he fac om Rsian forc due to his posn as a gay rights activist.
BRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS E OF ANTI-GAY SLURTHE TELEGRAPH APPEARED TO DISGUISE HOMOPHOBIC LANGUAGE BY KIEV'S TROOPSBRISH NEWSPAPER THE TELEGRAPH APPEARS TO HAVE VERED UP THE REPEATED E OF AN ANTI-GAY SLUR BY UKRAIAN FIGHTERS A BAT VIO. THE CLIP WAS PUBLISHED BY THE OUTLET ON S YOUTUBE CHANNEL TWO MONTHS AGO, ALTHOUGH QUTNS OVER THE TRANSLATN WERE WILY PICKED UP ONLE ONLY THIS WEEK.THE BODYM FOOTAGE APPEARED TO SHOW RSIAN-SPEAKG UKRAIAN TROOPS REPELLG AN ATTACK ON THEIR POSNS OUTSI THE DONBASS CY OF ARTYOMOVSK (KNOWN UKRAE AS BAKHMUT).SEEMGLY SHOT EARLY SPRG, THE VIO OFFERS LTLE MENTARY ON THE FIGHTG, AND STEAD PROVIS VIEWERS WH PTNS ON THE MUTATN BETWEEN THE UKRAIAN FIGHTERS."RSIAN SOLDIERS ARE REFERRED TO AS 'ORCS' BY THE UKRAIAN FIGHTERS," A PTN BY THE TELEGRAPH CLAIMS EARLY ON THE CLIP.IN REALY, HOWEVER, THE UKRAIAN TROOPS REFER TO THE ATTACKG RSIAN SOLDIERS G A TERM WHICH TRANSLAT AS "F****TS." THE UKRAIAN FIGHTERS E THE SLUR MULTIPLE TIM DURG THE CLOSE-QUARTERS TRENCH GUNFIGHT, WH ALL STANC OF PTNED AS "ORCS."JUDGG BY THE WATERMARKS ON THE VIO, WAS SHOT BY FIGHTERS WH THE SO-LLED DAVCI WOLV UN, A SELF-STYLED ELE MECHANIZED FANTRY BATTALN OF THE UKRAIAN ARY. THE LEAR OF THE UN, NOTOR NEO-NAZI DMRY 'DAVCI' KOTSYUBAILO, WAS KILLED ON THE ONT L EARLY MARCH, AND WAS GRANTED A STATE-LEVEL FUNERAL WH UKRAIAN PRINT VLADIMIR ZELENSKY ATTENDANCE.() !FUNCTN(D,I){IF(!D.GETELEMENTBYID(I)){VAR J=D.CREATEELEMENT("SCRIPT");;";VAR W=D.GETELEMENTBYID(I);(J);}}(DOCUMENT,"POCKET-BTN-JS");BRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS E OF ANTI-GAY SLURBRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS E OF ANTI-GAY SLUR
A traed soldier, he is the lear of a group for Ukrae’s gay ary men, and over the years ma huge steps improvg the attu towards LGBT people Ukrae.
GAY LIFE UKRAE 2008
But as the Rsian vasn now rag on, those same gay Ukraian troops are fightg fense of their untry. A leadg gay rights mpaigner who has himself seen the btaly of the Rsian regime praised the heroism of Viktor and his fellow gay soldiers. Peter Tatchell was beaten and arrted Mosw 2007 for prottg a ban on the untry’s gay pri para.
Gay soldiers like Viktor are helpg to bunk myths and stereotyp about LGBTs beg weak, immoral and not te Ukraians. It is sickeng the way Rsian propaganda is attackg the recment of gay soldiers by Ukrae and g to smear and bmirch the Ukraian war effort. “Ukraian LGBT+ soldiers rightly fear that Put will impose homophobic persecutn, like already exists Rsia and Rsian-occupied Crimea and Donbass.
BRISH MEDIA GLOSS OVER UKRAIAN SOLDIERS' E OF ANTI-GAY SLUR
Members of Ukrae’s LGBTQ muny who sign up for the war have taken to sewg the image of the mythil beast to their standard-issue eplett jt below the natnal practice harks back to the 2014 nflict when Rsia vad then annexed the Crimean Pensula om Ukrae, “when lots of people said there are no gay people the army, ” actor, director and drama teacher Zhuhan told Rters as he and Romanova drsed their apartment for their send three-month bat rotatn. “So they (the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muny) chose the unirn bee is like a fantastic ‘nonexistent’ creature. ”Zhuhan’s unease lifts as one manr mak clear his refal to tolerate homophobia, and a more senr officer says the only important thg on the ont le is to be a good fighter, he subsequently tells Rters by one overridg fear, voiced back their apartment, remas.
Telligence officials warned that Rsian forc might target gay Ukraians specifilly. Homosexualy is a crimal offense Rsian-occupied Luhansk. Samozdra refed to operate, went to hidg — and eventually fled to Kyiv, where homosexualy is legal, and where gay life has thrived, pecially recent years.