Check out photos from a defiant KyivPride in Ukraine

Last Sunday’s Pride event was cut short by news of incoming Russian drones.

Jun 27, 2026 - 20:00

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Check out photos from a defiant KyivPride in Ukraine

KyivPride march 2026 — KyivPride 2026 (Photo: KyivPride)

The tenth KyivPride parade took place in the Ukrainian capital last Sunday (June 21). This year’s march covered a 0.8-mile route and attracted around 5,000 participants.

Among them were representatives from several embassies, including Sweden, Canada, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France. There were also representatives from the Council of Europe, the World Bank, and the United Nations.

“I think it’s important to stand with Ukraine,” Natalka Cmoc, Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent.

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“Ukraine wants equality, Ukraine is fighting very seriously on the front line, and there are members of the LGBTQ community fighting on the front line. They want the same rights as everyone else.”

KyivPride parade 2026 — (Photo: KyivPride)

Drones

Ukraine’s war against its invaders, Russia, is now in its fifth year. Although much of the fighting is in the east of the country, Russia continues to subject Kyiv to regular attacks. It happened again on Sunday, cutting short the Pride gathering. At the end of the march, speeches were delivered. However, these were halted due to warnings of incoming drones. Pride-goers headed for shelters while still holding their banners.

There were no reports of injury.

KyivPride speeches 2026 — Speeches were held at the end of the march (Photo: KyivPride)

The Pride parade was a culmination of a month of activities. After Sunday’s march, the biggest of these was a gathering of 2,000 people in KyivPride Park on 14 June. That gathering included discussions, DJs, performances, and market stalls.

Ukraine lacks key legal protections for LGBTQ citizens, and same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned. However, the war has raised LGBTQ visibility, particularly with straight soldiers fighting alongside gay ones on the front lines. This has helped soften attitudes toward queer rights, although the influence of the orthodox church remains strong.

Some of the queer soldiers who took part in last Sunday’s march wore balaclavas or masks to protect their identity. A small counter-protest to the Pride event also took place earlier in the day.

Call for more rights and recognition of families

The main rallying point for this year’s KyivPride March was the recognition of LGBTIQ+ people’s families. Organizers believe the issue has become critically urgent during the full-scale war. Although Ukraine is in the process of adopting a new Civil Code, it still fails to recognise same-sex families.

“Today we once again saw the strength of Ukrainian civil society in the face of the Pride movement on the streets of Kyiv,” said Anna Sharyhina, head of the board of NGO KyivPride, in a press statement after the parade.

“Since the start of the full-scale invasion we have come out against corruption, against the draft Civil Code, and now we have come out for equal rights. The institution of civil partnerships is an urgent and minimal compromise that we demand from the state in order to immediately ensure protection for LGBTIQ+ people.”

Sunday’s march was split into nine sections. One of these was for LGBTQ+ service members, veterans and their families. They carried around 50 portraits of fallen LGBTIQ+ soldiers.

“LGBTIQ+ people fight on the battlefield, and at the same time they are forced to win their own equal rights. That is unjust. Many of them died without ever living to see equality; many never managed to come out publicly in their lifetime. It should not be this way,” said Oleksandr Demenko, head of the NGO, Ukrainian LGBT Military for Equal Rights.

“Every year, more and more people join the KyivPride March and Prides across the country, and that is a concrete signal to those in power: the time for change has come, and it is needed now, both at the level of laws and at the level of awareness.”