How do you celebrate Pride when your country has been occupied and your people are being persecuted? That was the question for many LGBTQ+ Ukrainians, whose plight was commemorated on Saturday at a parade held in Warsaw and organized by KyivPride. The event is normally held in Kyiv, but this year, about 300 people traveled from Ukraine to the nearby Polish capital to remind the world of the horrors that are still ongoing in their home city—and, of course, to celebrate queer and trans identity and love, even as it’s being increasingly imperiled by Russian occupation.
“It is not a celebration,” KyivPride director Lenny Emson told the L.A. Times of Saturday’s event, adding, “We will wait for victory to celebrate.” Even so, there was plenty of rebellious joy on display at Saturday’s event, along with a clear desire to celebrate Eastern Europe’s LGBTQ+ community in all its glory. See the photos below.
