LGBT soldiers in Ukraine hope their service is changing attitudes as they rally for legal rights

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and ALEX BABENKO
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Several hundred LGBT Ukrainian servicemen and their supporters have marched in central Kyiv to demand more rights and highlight their service to their country in its war with Russia. They had encountered difficulties in being granted a venue and threats from counterprotests. The servicemembers — many wearing rainbow and unicorn patches on their uniforms — called on the government to grant them official partnership rights. They described the event as a pride march but it did not have the celebratory atmosphere of peacetime events. The role of LGBT members in the military has been credited with shifting public attitudes toward same-sex partnerships in the socially conservative country.