Kyiv march for partnership rights, days before 22 June 2024
A look back at the mid-June demonstration in the capital, where LGBTQ+ soldiers and supporters pressed for legal change.
What was happening in Kyiv in the days leading up to 22 June 2024, as the country's public life continued alongside the war? One answer came on 16 June 2024, when hundreds of LGBTQ+ troops from the Ukrainian Armed Forces and their supporters marched through the centre of the capital.
The marchers demanded legal reforms that would give same-sex couples more partnership rights. Their demand met resistance: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church opposed it, and counter-protesters were present along the route.
The presence of serving soldiers among the demonstrators was a defining feature of the event. Their call was specific and legal in nature, focused on partnership rights rather than on broader demands.
The march, reported on 16 June 2024, set out the terms of a public argument over rights and legal reform that was visible on the streets of Kyiv in that period.
