Oleksandr, a 23-year-old Ukrainian military doctor, believes that the war is a good opportunity to claim the rights of his collectiveA Russian television program broadcast an interview with the young man to point out the Ukrainian army as something weak for having homosexual membersThis young medical student considers that the laws will be passed only when the conflict is over and his country joins the EU Oleksandr discovered that he liked men at the age of 12 and immediately felt like a weirdo. At that time, even he himself could not accept his sexual orientation. The fear of rejection and emptiness in a country where the rights of LGTBI people are still practically non-existent, caused this young Ukrainian to choose to pretend to be someone else. It was the way he had to protect himself even if that meant not being able to show himself as he is. But, what this Ukrainian never imagined is that it would be paradoxically in a war context where he would break with all that had gone before and claim his right to be who he is, eleven years later. work, that he was homosexual. I did it after seeing that another colleague of mine had taken that step. I needed to do it too. I felt liberated and more comfortable”, he explains from his house in kyiv for NIUS. This 23-year-old was in Kharkov at the time he wanted to get rid of that past that had hurt him so much. He was there because he was clear from the first minute that Russia began the invasion that he wanted to contribute his grain of sand. For this reason, in the first days of the war he asked to join the army and perform tasks as a military doctor since he is a medical student. “I was from March to July treating wounded soldiers and giving them medical assistance. Also during my time in Irpin I did more military tasks. At that moment, he had to fight. There I understood what it means to be close to death, “he says. Oleksandr, during the interview at his house. Núria Garrido His father died fighting in Donbas in 2016 Until then, he had never found that refuge to talk about his identity . “I had only discussed my homosexuality with a friend. With my mother I didn’t feel that trust either, ”he adds. He can no longer do it with his father since he lost his life in the Donbas war in 2016. He was also a soldier. He feels pride remembering what his father did. In fact, while talking about him, he shows the medals, recognitions he achieved and his military outfit. As he explains, he was well known within the Ukrainian army. “Honestly, my father would have taken it badly to know that I am not heterosexual. It would have been very difficult for him to accept me”, he acknowledges. And about why in a war he dared to open up in a channel, a very masculinized context and where people outside the standards of heteronormativity are still not always well received, Oleksandr explains it : “With the invasion of Russia, our country is getting closer and closer to the European Union. I guess that helped me to be aware that it was time to claim our rights.” And how did his battle companions react? Acknowledgments to his soldier’s father. Núria Garrido Mockery on Russian television The interviewee explains that most of the soldiers understood him and that his words did not provoke mockery or jokes about his sexual orientation. For Oleksandr, this response from the soldiers was motivated more by his role in the army than by an exercise in empathy. “They needed me because of my work as a doctor and I suppose that also helped that I was never the object of ridicule,” he clarifies. Yes, it was, however, for Russian public television, which broadcast an interview that Oleksandr gave to a Ukrainian channel in which he spoke precisely about the importance of claiming the rights of homosexuals and also their respect within the army. The video of him appeared in one of the most watched programs in Russia and presented by the journalist, Olga Sjabeyeva – known for being one of the main voices of the Kremlin’s propaganda – on September 2. That material, explains Oleksandr, was perfect for the presenter to criticize the Ukrainian army saying that it was only made up of “gays”. Just this week the Russian Duma has approved a law that prohibits any declaration in support of the LGTBI collective. “The situation of our community in Russia is even worse. We know what they do. And with that video they wanted to spread the idea that our army is weak because there are homosexual people within it, ”he denounces. The insignia of the LGTBI military unit. Núria Garrido Oleksandr also wants to emphasize the support of the Ukrainian LGTBI Military Union to which she belongs, created in 2018. “They give us support, legal and psychological advice. Around 200 people belong to this unit”, she says. She also proudly wears the insignia on her military jacket whose main symbol is that of a unicorn in allusion to the collective’s flag. Still, she admits there is still a long way to go in Ukraine to achieve little things like walking hand-in-hand or public same-sex displays of affection. “The laws will come when the war is over and when Ukraine enters the European Union,” she predicts. Despite the absence of social rights, Oleksandr says that he does not want to leave his country. This is his land and here is his life. Reflections that give off the maturity of this young man who has already faced, surely, two of the most important battles of his life: defending his country and his human rights.