“If I went to war deliberately, why should I be afraid to say I am gay?”

^{Photo: Khrystyna Pashkina}

Pavlo has been in military service since 2020 — he was supposed to be demobilized in a few months, but a full-scale war began. After a year on the first front line, he and other conscripts were taken to the rear. Since then, he has been challenging his “Physically Limited” entry to sign a contract and fight alongside his boyfriend on the line of contact.

“I immediately decided that I would go to war with the artillery. When the full-scale invasion began, there were no mobilized troops yet — the first lines were defended by contract soldiers and conscripts. We took part in military operations in the directions of Kherson, Donetsk, Mykolaiv and Odesa.”

Pavlo has been in the unit on the site for a year now. He says that mostly conscripts serve there, who, unlike him, do not want to sign a contract. There, Pavlo faced aggression from the commanders and other soldiers. They are hostile, both morally and physically.

Even a year ago, there were regular beatings, threats, and pushing. After Pavlo began to highlight this problem in social networks and mass media, everything came down to verbal insults. He repeatedly tried to find out why he deserved such treatment — did he behave badly with someone, was rude or insulted someone? However, in response, he only received: “Because you're f#ggot!”.

“I tell them: "Look, boys, you and I shared a piece of bread in the trench, we prayed together, when we were waiting for the shelling, we laughed together. What is wrong now? It is a sin for you to judge me, because I am here with you! I took the gun in my hands, went to the front, fought side by side with you.”

Pavlo says that it was scary to tell publicly about what was happening in the unit for the first time. However, going to war was just as scary at the time, but he could not do otherwise. Becoming an LGBTQ+ activist is definitely no scarier than what he saw on the front line. He is not going to stop this activity even after the end of the war.

There are issues that Pavlo considers urgent, such as civil partnerships. It became especially relevant for him when he met his love during a full-scale war. Pavlo's boyfriend, Vlad, was a medic during the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) and now serves in hot areas. Despite the danger, Pavlo does everything possible to be transferred to his brigade as soon as possible.

“I told Vlad: 'I would rather die next to you, or you would rather die next to me, than to be called and told that you are no longer here.'” I would not forgive myself if I did not make an effort to protect my loved one. He is my whole life now.”

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