Evelyn Aschenbrenner is a non-binary person from the United States. In March 2022, they moved to Ukraine and joined the International Legion. Before the full-scale invasion, Evelyn lived in Poland, where they taught English.

“I was living in Poland when Russia attacked Ukraine. It was terrible… I was teaching English to students, many of whom were Ukrainians, including refugees. For me, this (full-scale invasion — ed.) was an extremely criminal attack on a democratic country. That is why I decided to come and help Ukraine. Since I lived not far from Ukraine, when President Zelenskyy said that foreigners could join the army, I decided to give it a try. So I packed my suitcase and crossed the border,” Evelyn said.

Evelyn had no military experience. So when they passed the interview, the battalion commander decided to take Evelyn to the headquarters to interview new soldiers.

“I speak a little Polish, and since I am an English teacher, I am used to working with foreigners,” Evelyn said.

They do not hide the fact that they have experienced both supportive and discriminatory behavior during their service. According to Evelyn, they noticed the latter more often among older soldiers.

“The soldiers were great — they were very supportive. Many of them even tried to find out my pronouns and ask me about my native language. One of them, a heterosexual soldier, drove our military vehicle at KharkivPride (the event was held in a unique car-pride format — ed.).”

“There was even one soldier who came to my drag show in Kharkiv. And another asked me to send him a photo of me wearing my medals (volunteer cross) at the pride. However, there were also many older guys with a Soviet mindset who did not understand me,” Evelyn shares their experience.

Importance of supporting LGBTQI+ military personnel

Anna Sharyhina, president of the Kharkiv Women’s Association Sphere and co-organizer of KharkivPride, has several queer military friends who have faced homophobic challenges.

“LGBTQI+ soldiers at war face an additional danger: they can hear that there are no LGBTQI+ people in the army, and the command lacks a clear articulated position on respect for diversity. People in the military do not have the extra strength to assert themselves and fight for their rights — LGBTQI+ military personnel often do not come out or even go back “into the closet”. Heterosexual people have access to rights and have families who can support them in trouble. LGBTQI+ people do not have this opportunity,” adds Anna.

Despite this, the activist still sees positive changes in the attitude towards LGBTQI+ people in Kharkiv.

“In September of this year, a representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Vitalii Sarantsev at a discussion panel at Kharkiv Media Hub — ed.) spoke for the first time about LGBTQI+ people in Kharkiv. He said it was very important that we were fighting for our rights.”

“And that the Armed Forces also declare equality. This is extremely important for Kharkiv! Changes are happening, but we need LGBTQI+ people to defend their rights, to talk about them, to take to the streets. No one else will do it except us,” said the president of the NGO KWA “Sphere”.

Homophobia and pressure on activists in Kharkiv

Before the full-scale war, the Women’s Association “Sphere” was engaged in education — it organized events on gender equality and human rights for the LGBTQI+ community. In 2019, they launched KharkivPride. During the preparation of this year’s Pride, which took place in September, the team faced large-scale challenges, but they were resolved.

“Representatives of local authorities broadcast a homophobic stance on this year’s Pride — they threatened Kharkiv businesses that were going to host Pride Fest at their establishments. They warned us about fights and rampages, saying that they could be committed by the military. But this is manipulation,” explains Anna.

The activist adds that all this looked paradoxical, because KharkivPride raised about 125 thousand hryvnias for the needs of the military in the Kharkiv and Sumy directions. In total, the team managed to raise UAH 809 thousand for components for drones and Starlinks and charging stations for the Achilles Battalion of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade in the Kharkiv region.

Not a fish, but a fishing rod: aid in times of war

“We realized how important it is to support the military and the people who stay in the city, provide jobs for others, and try to survive. That’s why we started supporting small businesses in a test mode,” says Anastasia Popova, project manager at Sphere.

With the support of the international organization, last year they provided 10 business grants. This year, they have already provided 30 grants.

One of them went to the Kaplychka bakery. After the full-scale invasion, it became difficult to work without electricity, communication and psychological support. The bakery was on the verge of closing. All of Oleksandra’s relatives left the city. And she continued to bake bread. However, she no longer delivered it around the city, but sold it in a rented shop.

“With the grant, we bought a dough mixer, a mixer, induction cookers — the equipment we are using now. All this is not cheap. We couldn’t have afforded it on our own… Before the full-scale invasion, I had my own workshop with a variety of equipment. However, I sold a lot of equipment when I moved out of the old shop. We supplied pastries to various Kharkiv establishments. Unfortunately, many of them have closed down…” says Oleksandra, co-owner of the bakery.

In addition to the grant, Oleksandra says that psychological support has become equally important to her: “Sphere reimburses me for psychotherapy. I’ve already had help like this several times. I consider this area to be very powerful and useful.”

Anastasiia Anhelova, manager of the Sphere psychological program, says that they provide individual counseling, organize group events, lectures, support groups, workshops, and master classes. For more than a year, they have received more than 550 applications from LGBTQI+ people for psychological support, and have provided more than 1500 consultations for women and members of the LGBTQI+ community.

“People often come to us because of problems in relationships, in the family, and with anxiety. All this can be the result of a full-scale invasion. There are more inquiries about anxiety after large-scale shelling and tragedies,” says Anastasiia from Kharkiv, a city that Russians attack several times a day.

The organization is now also working with two district prosecutor’s offices in Kharkiv. At their request, Sphere psychologists prepare opinions about the emotional states of people who have faced gender-based violence.

“Such opinions after the procedures can be used in court as evidence to prove that psychological or mental health damage has been caused. This is important, because psychological violence is quite difficult to prove in court due to the lack of material evidence,” says the manager.

Kharkiv shelter for LGBTQI+ refugees and humanitarian aid

There is also a shelter in Kharkiv for LGBTQI+ people, their families and friends. It was opened in 2023. Since then, it has become a shelter for 48 people. It is run by the NGO ALLIANCE.GLOBAL together with the volunteers of SPECTRE KHARKIV. “The organization has its own community center where volunteers hold events, meet and find like-minded people with similar experiences. It also has a psychologist’s office. Psychological support will never be enough, even after the war is over. Especially in the frontline region,” says Vasyl Malikov, coordinator of the Kharkiv branch of ALLIANCE.GLOBAL.

Oleksandr lives in a shelter. For security reasons, he hides his face.

“I am an IDP from Kherson. I have been living here for almost a month. To be honest, even at home I didn’t have such (good — ed.) conditions. Now I am trying to do everything possible to stay in Kharkiv. I like the city and the people who live here. I’m actively looking for a job and housing, because I realize that I won’t be able to live here forever… I heard that this shelter is not only for LGBTQI+ people, but also for their families. I would really like to take my mother here: she could not leave with me, and now she is afraid to leave the house,” says Oleksandr.

Draft law No. 5488 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. It introduces liability for hate crimes, including those based on gender and sexual orientation. If MPs support it, Oleksandr will be able to speak openly about his identity. 

Contacts of the above organizations:

Sphere on Instagram

ALLIANCE.GLOBAL on Facebook