“I have the same duties to the state as other military personnel. However, I do not have the same rights.”

_{Photo: Khrystyna Pashkina}

Alina has been in the army since 2015. She was drafted into the army right after graduating from the university. She served in the military commissariat for a year and was transferred to a combat brigade, where she later remained to serve under a contract and met the enemy in February 2022.

“Back then, in 2015, I did not have a deep understanding of what was happening. The army was more adventurous. Understanding came already during the service, especially when I transferred to the combat brigade. I got rid of my inferiority complex and found my Ukrainian identity there.”

Alina says that in her unit she is treated well, although she has never hidden her orientation. Despite this, homophobia in the army still exists, as does misogyny — inappropriate jokes along the lines of “Can I be the third?” did not go anywhere.

“It is upsetting that we have a real enemy, and some representatives of right-wing radical organizations continue to harass women, LGBTQ+ people, in particular, military personnel. These are their brothers and sisters, yet for some reason, they feel the moral right to do so.”

In the summer of 2023, Alina, together with her fiancée, took part in a performance for marriage equality — many mass media have written about it back then. After that, her commander was summoned by the chief of staff. Commander replied to the displayed photos that this is life and people get married. Alina says that it was very valuable for her the way her commander reacted.

She openly took part in this performance as a military officer. But she was very shocked and derailed by the comments under the posts about the action on social networks. In particular, those that devalued her military service. However, there were many who supported and asked the aggressive commentators if they themselves were in the army.

In general, Alina sees how information campaigns help society get rid of stereotypes. When, during the war, society started talking about the importance of civil partnerships, people became more open-minded about the issue of marriage equality. This is something that, in particular, will help to solve the problem of joint custody of children in LGBTQ+ couples.

“I just want to have the same rights as others. So that I could get married and not make a performance out of it, but have a quiet family celebration. I had no dream of getting married publicly — I was forced to put on a show because I did not have the opportunity to do it for real. When the law of Ukraine will fully protect me, like all citizens, I will know that my family is under the protection of the state, and this will enable me to perform my tasks better.”

_{The information campaign was created by Різні.Рівні and ХарківПрайд in support of об’єднання ЛГБТК+ військових for the RFSL.}