On Sunday, September 19, the annual Equality March in support of the Ukrainian LGBT community was held in the center of Kiev. According to the organization “KievPride”, this time about 7 thousand people took part in the event. At the same time, according to the organizers, it was expected that 10 thousand people would come to the march, but this did not happen due to weather conditions – it was raining in the capital.
“In 2019 there were eight thousand, but we understand that the pandemic and the weather influenced But it is still an achievement.” – said in the air of “Radio Liberty” representative “KievPride” Maxim Potapovich.
At 11:00, 30 columns of the Equality March participants began their movement from the National Opera of Ukraine along the central streets of the capital, after which they reached Lev Tolstoy Square. The demonstrators carried banners with the slogans “In 2023 I want to attend a gay wedding of my friends”, “Lesbo is not lesbo, homo is not homo, we all want to love legally”, “Our tradition is freedom.”
The theme of the march this year was the slogan: “A country for everyone. Laws for life. State for security.”
The event was also attended by foreign diplomats – Ambassador of Sweden Tobias Tiberg, Ambassador of Great Britain Melinda Simmons, and Ambassador of the Netherlands Johannes de Mol. The latter said on the air of hromadske that holding such an event is “a sign of European integration.”
“These are the values that we share. I am pleased that this is very similar to what is happening in Amsterdam,” the diplomat said.
Earlier today, the participants of the “Equality March” were supported by the authorized person of the Verkhovna Rada for human rights Lyudmila Denisova.
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“Let’s respect everyone’s right to be themselves! We are different, but we are equal!” – wrote the Ombudsman on her Facebook.