Party organisers called for reforms to the police, prosecutor’s office, and judiciary, immediate investigations into attacks on LGBTQ+ people, as well as feminist events, activists, and organisations, an end to illegal raids on the techno scene in Kiev, and the creation of safe conditions for the development of Ukraine’s electronic scene.Īlthough France24 reports that many Pride attendees felt the police did “nothing about the violence”, 31-year-old Anastasia, who grew up in Russia but now lives in Kiev, tells Dazed: “It was truly shocking and mind-blowing that the police were there to protect us.” Organised by the newly-established UkrainePride, the event was held in protest against LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Ukraine, as well the country’s lack of anti-discrimination policies. We fight together’, party for six hours outside Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s window. On Friday (July 30), Misha was among approximately 100 people who joined Kiev’s LGBTQ+ Pride rave – dubbed Reyvakh Pride – which saw a crowd wearing balaclavas, draped in rainbow flags, and carrying signs that read, ‘We dance together. “Now is the time to declare ourselves loudly,” says 25-year-old Misha from Kiev, “and to do it in front of the main rights guarantor’s office is the best way to do it.”
