Pride month is currently being celebrated across the globe. In many places, pride is a celebration of queer community, as well as a protest against social inequality and violence. This June is unlike any other in Ukraine, as the war with Russia has continued to rage on and has devastated the queer community there. The Ukraine Pride NGO, has released a new video, Pride is not available in your region – supported by the app Taimi – documenting the ways in which the war has impacted the lives of queer nationals, and the contributions the LGBTQI+ community has made in defending their nation from Russian aggression.
Last summer, Ukraine Pride held a Reyvakh Pride event, a political protest under the guise of a rave, outside of the president’s office. The NGO’s Creative Director, Yura Dvizhon expressed that this was to become an annual event. The war disrupted this tradition. Dvizhon sought to direct a short film in the absence of the community’s ability to physically be together and celebrate pride. The film presents several characters in motion, all sharing brief anecdotes of their lives in recent days. The video is hopeful and looks towards a future in which Ukraine is free and its communities can gather once again.
