Ukraine war: LGBT troops fight Russians and attitudes at home

One corner of Kyiv’s symbolic central square is now carpeted in thousands of tiny blue and yellow flags, in tribute to Ukraine’s fallen soldiers. Earlier this month, a group of activists gathered to add a different type of flag to the ever-growing collection. They had unicorns in their centre, to represent each gay soldier that had been killed in the war.
The deaths of LGBT soldiers in Ukraine have exposed an inequality. They do not have the same rights as heterosexual troops. Gay marriage is illegal, meaning when these soldiers are killed, their partners do not have the right to decide what happens to their bodies, nor are they entitled to state support.
A 30-year-old costume designer, Rodion, had come to plant a flag in honour of his former boyfriend Roman, who was killed in the early months of the invasion, the day before his 22nd birthday.