“We are fighting for our rights, so that we live freely in our country, not as in russia.”

_{Photo: Volodymyr Koval}

Filip has been at war since June 2022. At first, he was not accepted to the army due to his lack of military experience, and he personally was not sure whether he was ready to serve. For a while, Filip combined day work and night unloading trucks of humanitarian aid. At the beginning of summer, he went to the military commissariat again and joined the ranks of the Armed Forces.

“Some of my comrade brothers know that I am bisexual, some do not. However, honestly, everyone does not care: the main thing is what kind of person you are. In the army, the most important thing is a cool head and steel balls. I positioned myself to be respected. I always thought of my brothers first: I sought through my channels to ensure that they had everything they needed.”

Filip says that the biggest stir after his public coming out in social networks arose among civilians. However, no anger spread because of this —people were simply surprised. It, in his opinion, once again proves that LGBTQ+ people are the same people as everyone else.

“Yes, I like both boys and girls. And, in theory, I can marry a woman and be “normal” in the eyes of society. However, I had a beloved boyfriend with whom we were together for 6 years and wanted to start a family. I have a choice, but I make it not with my mind, but with my heart. You can fool anyone, but not yourself.”

Filip says that before the full-scale war, he and his boyfriend planned to get married abroad — even though our state does not recognize such marriages. However, it is the legal aspect of the issue that is important now: for example, when a partner needs to go to a loved one in an intensive care unit.

“I had this: I lied that I was my boyfriend's cousin in order to visit him in the hospital. And why are we fighting now at all? We are fighting for our freedom, for our rights, so that we live freely in our country, not as in russia. We must have a civilized society that reckons all people.”

Registered partnerships' law is primarily legal support for LGBTQ+ people. However, this is only the first step towards legalizing the life of LGBTQ+ couples. Filip says that he, like many of his friends in the LGBTQ+ military community, would like to have an opportunity to adopt children in the future, and that requires full marriage equality.

Filip is glad that now many celebrities and opinion leaders have started to publicly speak out for LGBTQ+ rights, because their audience listens to their thoughts. So, people will start to wonder if everything is really that way, as the defenders of “traditional values” ​​declare.

"It is important to show, to say that we are here, that we exist. When people see that those boys who are now at the frontline, maybe used to dance in heels, but now they are sitting in boots in the same mud as uncle Ivan from the neighbouring village, perhaps they will understand that something that they were told about us during the whole life is wrong.”

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