Anti-LGBT protesters are seen during this week’s equality march in Kiev. Ukrainian politicians and foreign diplomats joined thousands marching for gay pride, carrying banners and waving rainbow and Ukrainian flags in a parade flanked by a thick cordon of helmeted police. The march was largely incident-free, although around 200 people protested, calling it an affront to traditional values as well as soldiers fighting pro-Russian separatist rebels in the eastern Donbass region.
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Some supporters of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights see progress in Ukraine as symptomatic of the country’s closer integration with the European Union and rejection of its ties with neighboring Russia.
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Protesters burned a rainbow flag during the Kiev march. Ukrainian authorities have increased their support for gay rights since a pro-Western government took power following the Maidan protests in 2014. In 2015, a law was passed banning workplace discrimination against the LGBT community.
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Participants on the march.
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Riot police detain an anti-LGBT protester. Critics say homophobic attitudes remain widespread. Six people were detained for trying to breach the security cordon, police reported.
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The text on T-shirt reads “He’s my family.”
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Riot police detain an anti-LGBT protester. Sunday’s march was a far cry from the violent clashes witnessed at the same event in 2015, but protesters also made their voices heard. “We cannot allow this march when the country is at war and our brothers are dying on the front,” said Igor, 33. “The Bible and our history are against them.”
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“Sunny & well organised #KyivPride2017. Another step forward for equality in #Ukraine,” Judith Gough, the British ambassador to Ukraine who joined the march, wrote in a tweet.
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A firecracker explodes near riot police. A day before the parade, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, deputy prime minister on European and Euroatlantic Integration, said the parade would help Ukraine shake off its “imperial legacy.” “There is a consensus in society on the movement of our state in the direction of Europe,” she wrote on Facebook. “This is not a choice about material wealth. This is a value choice,” she said, adding that a pivot to Europe meant Ukraine learning to respect “individuality and diversity.”
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Participant takes part in the equality march in Kiev. The city was embroiled in gay rights row this year as it hosted the Eurovision Song Contest with a slogan to 'Celebrate Diversity'. A plan to paint a Soviet-era monument in rainbow colours was resisted by hard-right groups.
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Riot police block anti-LGBT activists.
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Participant takes part in the equality march.
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Demonstrators stomped on a rainbow flag during the equality march.
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Participants march through Kiev.
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Anti-LGBT protesters clash with riot police during the equality march.
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Participants take part in the equality march.
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Riot police block an anti-LGBT protester.
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A float in the equality march.
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