Ukraine, historic LGBT rights activist Olga Shevchenko: “Putin is Evil”

The resistance of the Ukrainian LGBTQI + community to the Russian invasion also shows the other face, that of those who fight to avoid trampling their rights, precisely where the greatest risks would be mainly minorities and dissidents. In these difficult hours of war, despite growing fears, the intention of the LGBTQI + community is not to give up, so much so that many activists and veterans of the same community have joined the army to face the invader. The situation on the ground is serious, lesbian activist Olena Shevchenko, head of the ‘Insight’ organization and European representative of Ilga World, the worldwide network (of over 1,700 organizations) that has been fighting for rights since 1978, told Adnkronos of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex. “For security reasons, many LGBTQI + people have already left for other countries. Everyone knows that LGBTQI + people will be one of the first targets under possible control of Ukraine. They do what they can to try and save themselves,” says Olena Shevchenko. which receives hundreds of messages and calls from worried LGBTQI + people every day. Others, on the other hand, preferred to stay on the pitch and fight. “Many LGBTQI + people have done military service. Some were at war in 2014 in eastern Ukraine. Now they are veterans and have gone to protect our country again,” says historic human rights activist, who is also co-chair. of the LGBT Council of Ukraine. Regarding the news bounced in the media of a ‘kill list’ that Vladimir Putin allegedly compiled, among others, also of LGBTQI + activists, Shevchenko merely said that he had “heard of it” but adds nothing else, except that “everything it’s possible”. With Putin of course. But who is he? “He is evil. He is destroying our country, our homes. He is killing our people.”
(by Sibilla Bertollini)