Hiding in a bomb shelter at the start of the war, but now ignores the sirens.

On February 24, I woke up early in the morning to a phone call from an American friend.

As soon as I responded, I was told that all the international news was about Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine.

I was scared, surprised and confused. She knew that she needed to leave Kieu’s apartment right away.

It took me 40 minutes to pack my bag and get to the car. The military plane was low and flying terribly noisy. It was a surreal experience, it was hard to know if it was reality or the worst nightmare of my life.

Like other Ukrainians, he was not prepared for war, destruction and suffering.

Now, four months later, I am still trying to deal with all the changes. Today I do not have a permanent home in Kieu, where I have lived since 2010. I took him to my parents’ house in Ternopil, in the western part of the country.

The entertainment industry, where I have been working since 2015, has been greatly affected by the war. She worked on several projects at the same time, including shooting music videos for Ukrainian singers, creating high-budget fashion videos, and preparing advertisements for local brands. Currently, neither singers nor fashion brands are investing in video content, so there are only a few low-budget projects (mainly social projects) that I should focus on.

In the past, we were proud to have a great team of true professionals. But unfortunately, many members of the team were lost due to the war. Some are fighting on the front lines, while others have fled Ukraine to start a new life in a new country.

I spent my life before Russia invaded Ukraine.

As the founder and creative director of UKRAINE PRIDE, an NGO that supports the patriotic queer movement, I am active in pride, organizing events for the Ukrainian queer community, and conducting interviews to promote human rights and equality. She gave a speech. LGBT+ people.

In the summer of 2021, we hold a creative political performance called “Reyvacpride”. Reyvac can be translated from Yiddish as “noise”. Pretending to be a sweetheart outside the Ukrainian presidential office.

The purpose of this event was to draw public attention to the safety of LGBTQ+ people, the arbitrariness of the police, the lack of investigation of past crimes against society by radical groups, and the electronic scene in Kyiv.

It lasted up to 10 hours and was the most creative LGBTQ+ protest in our history. And I am proud to be able to organize it completely independently, without sponsorship or support.

As a producer and filmmaker, I have many plans for the future and was excited to contribute to the industry I was working in and see it grow.

The war has changed my life, and now I have other goals.

After my friend and I left Kyiv, we went to our parents’ house and stayed there for two months. We lived under the same roof and did our best to support each other; it was the only way to deal with all the bad news of countless deaths and destruction.

At the beginning of the war, when we heard the air raid siren, we ran to the bomb shelter. Within a week, we were tired of running both physically and mentally.

When the siren sounded, we just went out into the hall. This is the only safe place in a house where the “two walls” rule applies (the rule to use if there are at least two walls between the person and the street where the explosion occurs), and the person survives. The probability is high)

Now I tend to ignore the air raid sirens, but I understand that it can cost me my life. I have already witnessed how the war robbed my friends and colleagues. Some of them were part of our LGBTQ+ community.

I will protect my country as much as possible.

After the war starts, I use my voice to talk about Ukraine. Almost every day I contact the international media for interviews. It explains how the Russian invasion affected my life and the life of the LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine.

Basically, LGBTQ+ Ukrainians, just like other Ukrainians, experienced large-scale aggression. I always say that we are all equal in sadness, fear and struggle.

I think the only difference is that LGBTQ+ people experience more stress. No matter how high our achievements, we face hatred from other Ukrainians, which negatively affects our physical and mental health.

But we are strong and we handle everything.

During the first days of the large-scale aggression, my UKRAINE PRIDE team launched a donation drive. Raised funds to support LGBTQ+ servicemen and their families, the Azov Regiment, the elderly, and children with special needs.

When I returned to Kieu after two months of war, I missed last summer and the pride of Reykjavik. This led me to create a video project called “PrideNotAvailableinYourRegion” with my friends at Time Alliance.

The main goal of the project was to show how the war changed the lives of our queer community. I wanted to emphasize the contributions of LGBTQ+ people. Some of them work as doctors, volunteers or fight on the front lines.

The first day of shooting was unforgettable. We met for the first time after the war. We were immersed in the creative process and enjoyed doing what we were good at. I felt like I was living a normal life.

Everyone who participated in this project had a great desire to stop the war as soon as possible. People worked with absolute dedication, pure emotions. It was such a wonderful moment that I suddenly shed tears.

This video is powerful and will take its place in Ukraine’s LGBTQ+ history.

This project was created to remind the world of what is happening in Ukraine. We hope to attract media attention and get closer to victory.

Since then, we have received support from Ukrainian celebrities, politicians and international media. This movie is still gaining momentum. This contributes to our victory in all aspects, including cultural aspects.

Today, as Ukrainians, we live in two different realities and fight for our lives and freedoms in real life and in the information war. As queers, we fight in many more ways to be visibly equal during war.

In this case, speaking up for LGBTQ+ Ukrainians during the Russian invasion requires international support from the community and allies.

If the world does not pay attention to what is happening in Ukraine, the war will reach other European countries.

We seek peace more than anyone in the world. But peace is not our option at all costs.

We did not start this war. We do not enter foreign territory.

Our sovereignty and territorial integrity are not subject to compromise.