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"I'm against gay propaganda that these sick people have organized here in collusion with authorities," said antigay activist Serhiy Hashchenko, holding a poster that said "Ukraine is no Sodom." "And behavior is a crime against the normal Ukrainian citizen." "The authorities committed a crime by allowing this march to take place," said Mykola Kokhanivsky, a nationalist leader. Moral nation? Why Germany changed course so radically on Russia. "We have been threatened with a 'bloodbath' but every step of this march gives us hope."Īfter a pro-Western government came to power following the 2014 Maidan protests, Ukrainian authorities have been more supportive of the LGBT rights movement, despite the country's widespread lack of support for gay rights.Īmong those marching was Judith Gough, the United Kingdom's ambassador to Ukraine. "The road to equality in Ukraine is difficult as well as dangerous," said Bohdan Hloba, an organizer of the parade. Although right-wing groups had threatened attacks, the parade was mostly peaceful. Nine streets and one subway station were blocked off, though a few nonviolent antigay activists got through to the parade. Western diplomats joined with gay rights activists, some wearing the European Union flags, others in national Ukrainian dress, and this year with support from Ukrainian authorities. Nearly a thousand people with rainbow flags took to the streets, under the protection of several thousand police, in Ukraine's first major gay pride parade in Kiev this Sunday.