Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, made a statement in support of open discussions on LGBTQ+ rights on the night of June 11 at a cultural event in the capital city of Kyiv.

During a discussion about Tysiachovesna, which is a national initiative to fund Ukrainian cultural content, the President encouraged the people of Ukraine to normalise and accept LGBTQ+ topics. 

Volodymyr Zelensky said this in response to a question asked by Oleksandr Demenko, the head of the NGO, LGBT Military for Equal Rights. Demenko enquired whether Ukraine needs cultural products that help “normalise LGBT people and issues” and increase public tolerance. 

Volodymyr Zelensky replied, “I believe we need to speak openly with society about everything, and that is absolutely normal.” 

He strongly encouraged acceptance of all people, and referenced homophobia as a medieval belief: “We are all here with you, we are defending the state, we are equal and we have absolutely equal rights – regardless of any, I don’t know, prejudices of people from the 15th century. You and I are modern people”. 

He continued his explanation, focusing on the importance of talking about these topics with people of all ages, saying, “I believe we should speak not only with our children, because our children are much cooler than our generation.”

While homosexuality is legal in Ukraine, and there are lawful protections in place for discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in and outside of the workplace, there are still some shortcomings in the current law for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Namely, same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are not legally recognised; however, in recent years, they have been making steps to increase protections for the LGBTQ+ community.

In 2025, a Kyiv district court made history by legally recognising a same-sex couple as a “de facto family”, setting a judicial precedent. The decision was upheld in February of 2026 by the Ukrainian Supreme Court, following an appeal from Vsi Razom, an anti-LGBTQ+ organisation.

However, Governmental Speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, recently brought forward a revision to the Civil Code that could weaken or even remove and entirely roll back this legal recognition of same-sex couples, by defining families as opposite-sex cohabitations.

Furthermore, the country’s constitution at present states that marriage is between a man and a woman, which creates a large hurdle for the official and legal acceptance of same-sex unions. However, given Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech, it is possible things could improve heavily for queer Ukrainians in the near future.

Did you know that this Pride month, you can support GCN by donating €1 when you shop online with PayPal? Simply select GCN at the checkout or add us as your favourite charity* at this link to support Ireland’s free LGBTQ+ media.
*GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity – Charity Number: 20034580.