Those tempered at daybreak: LGBTQ* eyewitness reports of the war in Ukraine

30 stories, 30 fates. Portraits and stories of 30 LGBTQ* people from the south of Ukraine during the war. Exhibition at the Lesbian-Queer Centre LeZ from 24 May to 16 June; opening on 24 May.

Russia’s attack triggered a war that has not been seen in Europe since 1945. The ideas of human rights and collective security: What the modern understanding of justice and equality is based on, have been challenged.

Ukrainians united to defend their homeland, and amidst the fighting, losses, and deaths, everything else faded into the background. Any nation forced to defend its existence will face the consequences of war. It brings not only crippled lives and destroyed cities. It also brings radicalization of society and increased pressure on vulnerable groups of people. Social exclusion based on sexual orientation or gender identity is still present in Ukraine.

Living in the face of disaster

The advocacy campaign, which included collecting stories, holding an exhibition, publishing a book, and recording an audiobook, “Those Tempered at Daybreak: LGBTQ* eyewitness reports of the war in Ukraine,” is our response to the challenges of war.

The campaign was an opportunity for LGBTQ* people to share their unique experiences, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, common to many Ukrainian women and men from southern Ukraine. To speak out loud about their experiences, fears, and hopes, about their identity as a group member, even in situations where some of them were left alone in the face of disaster.

The artist Stasya Samar has portrayed these people. Her drawings are accompanied by text and audio reports from them. Stasya’s art makes communication possible where LGBTIQ*, as a vulnerable group, often prefer to remain silent.

There is a “before” and an “after”

“Those tempered at daybreak: LGBTQ* eyewitness reports of the war in Ukraine” is the title chosen to draw attention to the event that divided the lives of millions of Ukrainians around the world into “before” and “after” – the dawn of February 24, 2022. The dawn after which everything has changed and became hardened. The dawn after which the world lost so much forever.

All the stories are available to read and listen to on this website (English, Ukrainian)

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Those tempered at daybreak: LGBTQ* eyewitness reports of the war in Ukraine
When 24th of May till 16th of June in the Lesbian-Queer Centre LeZ, Müllerstraße 26
Opening 24th of May, 7 p.m., with the artist Stasya Samar and the curator Evhenija Kvasnevska from Gay Alliance Ukraine, Kyiv/Odesa
Organisedy by Munich Kyiv Queer, Gay Alliance Ukraine, MunichPride, Cultural Department of the City of Munich

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations like Gay Alliance Ukraine in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people like those portrayed here. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

Since the start of the war, Munich Kyiv Queer has collected over 200,000 euros in donations for queer war victims in Ukraine and helped refugees to start a new life in Germany.

Solidarity with Ukraine is unbroken – at least in Munich. Since 24 February 2022, we, who have been campaigning for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, inter* and queer people in Munich’s twin city Kyiv and beyond since 2012, have been asking for donations again and again. To date, exactly 228,938.78 euros have been collected.

What looks like a lot of money at first glance quickly turned out to be a scarce resource. So far, our initiative has given an average of 200 euros per person in one-off emergency aid to individuals. This corresponds to just under half an average monthly income in Ukraine. A private fundraising campaign allows for quick, free and unbureaucratic action. And because the need is great, there are currently only 27,682.63 euros left (status of 21 February 2024).

Munich Kyiv Queer joining Munich’s protest against the right in January 2024. Photo: Conrad Breyer

The money is given to queer people in need who have lost their jobs, been bombed out, are ill or have had to flee. As a vulnerable group, LGBTIQ* people are often particularly alone in such situations, as they cannot always rely on stable family structures and their circles of friends, often their families of choice, have often been torn apart in the course of the flight movements.

Thanks to the donors and the team

Conrad Breyer, spokesperson for Munich Kyiv Queer, is delighted with the unbroken solidarity. “We are so incredibly grateful for the help!” It comes from Munich’s community, its many committed people and organisations; it comes from Munich’s civil society and often from artists, especially from the drag scene, who offer Munich Kyiv Queer a platform for fundraising and aid campaigns. However, help also reaches them from all over Germany and even from abroad.

For a small, voluntary group like Munich Kyiv Queer with just a dozen members, it is an outstanding achievement to have raised so much money, says Conrad. “Many of us have been working non-stop for years, especially since the start of the war, to organise support for our partner organisations and friends in Ukraine.”

How Munich Kyiv Queer helps

And the commitment is by no means limited to donations. Munich Kyiv Queer also looks after people who have come to Munich: We help them with dealing with the authorities and bureaucracy, support them find accommodation and mingle into the German society and Munich’s community through a mentorship programme.

Munich’s LGBTIQ* community shows solidarity at a queer networking meeting in 2023. Photo: MKQ

With the donations, Munich Kyiv Queer has so far been able to help around 1000 individuals who need the funds for food, hygiene articles, clothing, (HIV) medication, operations, hormones, rent, escape, documents and even funerals. There is a lack of everything!

In the past six months, the donations have gone to people (names changed) like:

  • Vitalyna and Masha, two lesbian women with children, who were recently evacuated from the occupied Mariupol. They needed money for rent, papers and food
  • Lina, a trans* woman from Kharkiv. She does not currently earn enough to cover her rent and other needs in full
  • Dmytro, a gay man from Pavlohrad. He was beaten up and needed money for an operation.

“This help is really invaluable for our community. Just to feel that we are not left alone in this war and that we can rely on friends in Munich and elsewhere means everything to us,” says Stanislav Mishchenko, board member of KyivPride. Stas is also a member of Munich Kyiv Queer.

Every request for help is checked for credibility in collaboration with Munich Kyiv Queer’s queer partner organisations in Ukraine. If the LGBTIQ* organisations in Ukraine are able to provide support themselves, for example by issuing vouchers for food, medicine and hygiene products, they will do so. In all other cases, Munich Kyiv Queer steps in.

Part of the Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine

It should also be mentioned that Munich Kyiv Queer, together with around 40 other German LGBTIQ* organisations, is part of the Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine alliance, which it co-founded in February 2022. “Queere Nothilfe Ukraine” provides dedicated support to Ukrainian LGBTIQ* organisations. It has raised over one million euros since 24 February.

Ukrainian LGBTIQ* organisations use the money for their own aid programmes and for shelters. However, not all queer people are connected to these bodies or know them, which is why Munich Kyiv Queer supplements the offer with its individual case help.

Ukrainian delegation marching at Munich Pride in 2023. Photo: MKQ

The war is now entering its third year, with no end in sight. If you would like to continue to help, you can do so HERE. At MunichKyivQuer.org/donations we also list how your support helps and we blog about the current situation for LGBTIQ* in Ukraine. You can also find information about our projects going on.

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

Sasha is a queer activist and artist from Kyiv turning 20 this year. When she and her parents found themselves away from home after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Sasha was still a teenager. Soon she realized that Ukraine and its queer movement need help to survive. This is her story, protocol by our columnist Iryna Hanenkova.

I currently live in Vancouver and study Arts at the University of British Columbia (UBC), with an interest in acting, psychology, and international relations. Since I left Ukraine, I have represented my country at protests in Warsaw, New York, and Vancouver.

Before moving to Canada in July 2022 to begin my education, I lived with my family in New York for six months. As a teenager at the time, I was unsure about what to do with my life, as I was neither prepared for the war, nor was in a good spot in my personal life even prior to the full-scale invasion.

How to support Ukraine from abroad?

For everyone who lived in the Kyiv region at the time, February 24th of 2022 was the scariest day of their lives, as the russian army was constantly shelling and quickly advancing on the region. In order to reunite with my immediate family who were abroad at the time, I left my home without a definite plan and ended up going to New York through Warsaw.

I spent half a year advocating for Ukraine in New York, as well as trying to figure out what to do with my life and how best to utilize my skills as a Ukrainian living abroad. I volunteered with “Razom For Ukraine”, joined every Ukrainian protest, and took part in the New York Pride Parade in June 2022 to represent the Ukrainian LGBTIQ* community.

Attending pride events has always been important to me since I first started advocating for women’s rights and then further exploring my sexuality. The first pride parade I ever attended was the “Equality March” organized by KyivPride in September 2021, 5 months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Activism has been the primary drive of my life since I became conscious of the issues of human and animal rights in Ukraine at the time. The war accelerated all social changes in my country and resulted in the recent ratification of the Istanbul Convention, introduction of gender-neutral partnerships bill to the Parliament of Ukraine, legalization of medical cannabis, etc.

I joined the Pride movement to break Western stereotypes…

As part of my goal to gain more support for the Ukrainian cause, I also attended Seattle Pride in June 2023, and helped organize Ukrainian entry at the Vancouver Pride in August 2023. I believe that Pride parades abroad are a great opportunity to remind the world that Ukrainian queers still need support to defeat Russian imperialism, as well as to break the Western stereotype that there is no queer movement in Ukraine.  

Since I moved to Vancouver to study at UBC in June 2022, my life gained more certainty and I was able to concentrate more of my efforts on advocating for Ukraine. When I became a student at UBC, I joined the Ukrainian Student Union a.k.a. USU. Together with the team, we organize events and fundraisers on and off campus to promote Ukrainian culture and history.

As part of USU, I am organizing the “LGBTIQ* Ukrainians” entry at this year’s Vancouver Pride too. Our goal as a student club is to increase the support of Ukraine in the university and the city, as much of the local population is unfortunately subject to pro-russian and communist propaganda.

.. and to increase military aid to Ukraine

In 2024, I intend to work on more Ukrainian advocacy projects, maintain the existing support for Ukraine, and attract as many new supporters of the cause as possible. My hope is that such work will influence the decision-makers to increase military aid to Ukraine which is the only way to accelerate Ukrainian victory.

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

This is the story of Manila Boss, a drag queen from Ukraine. The 28-year-old tells how she experienced the outbreak of war. Manila shares her moving journey, the moments of fear, the will to survive and the solidarity that helped her not to lose hope in the midst of the chaos. Our columnist Iryna Hanenkova met Manila and wrote down her story.

How did I get to know the war? Under the duvet. I had my premonitions about a week before the outbreak, but in the 21st century a major war seemed a long way off. I sat at home and thought that such things no longer happen today. But fate had other plans for us.

My boyfriend is a soldier and on the evening of 23 February he told me to be careful at night or something might happen to me. When my mother called at six in the morning on 24 February, I quickly realised what he had meant: “Son, the war has started. Get up, pack some documents and be ready.” My mum didn’t know what to tell me because we live in different cities.

I put the phone down and while I was still sitting on the bed, I heard the first violent explosions. The chaos began. I didn’t know what to do, where to go or where to hide. Fear overwhelmed me and I felt helpless.

Escape from the missiles

At that moment, I received a call from a friend. He told me to come to his flat, that we had to stay together. Without hesitation, I grabbed my documents and some clothes, hailed a taxi and set off. The explosions in the distance accompanied me; I didn’t know if I would arrive safely.

Surprisingly, the taxi came quickly, I drove to my friends’ house under the explosions and didn’t know if I would get there…

I lived in his shared flat for the first three weeks. Every time there was an air raid, we ran and took cover, often in the grounds of a nightclub where I used to perform. The club was underground and seemed relatively safe.

Then, when the situation in the country became clearer, I returned home alone. I found myself in a new life. The club where I had performed had closed its doors – of course.

Hope in the midst of chaos

Thank God I had and still have another job that has kept me afloat. I work for the youth organisation Partner. Our target group are LGBTIQ*.

Before the war, we carried out tests for STIs and distributed contraceptives. After the war began, we started helping internally displaced people who had fled from the nearby cities of Kherson and Mykolayiv.

We provided them with food and humanitarian aid, and we started to offer free hormone replacement therapy for trans* people. We are still doing that today…

Ukraine will triumph

I didn’t perform on stage in front of an audience for a year and a half. I didn’t know if I would ever perform again. I didn’t know if anyone needed that now. But – wonder of wonders! – recently the director of the club where I used to perform on stage called me and said: Manila, we’re working again!

From the first days of the war, I was on the territory of my country!!! And I didn’t and don’t want to leave there! I am at home!!! In Ukraine!

As I write these lines, the war continues unabated. But I firmly believe that Ukraine will win. I am proud of our Ukrainian armed forces and of our people. Everything will be fine, because in the end Ukraine will triumph.

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

Dmitry is a drag queen. In his blog post, the young Ukrainian describes how he experienced the outbreak of war and where Russia’s attack ultimately led him. He had to leave his home town, his family fled and he constantly had to find new jobs. The only ray of hope: Love! Dmitry recently met someone. Our columnist Iryna Hanenkova has written down his story for us.

It’s 24 February 2022, between 7:30 and 7:35 in the morning, something like that. The phone rings – it’s my grandmother from Zaporizhia calling. I’m living in Kharkiv at the time.

  • Hello, Dima, how are you in Kharkiv?
  • What do you mean?
  • Is it loud? Do they bomb?
  • What are you talking of? I need to get ready for work. What do they bomb?
  • The war has started.
  • I’ll call you back.

The war has begun. These words come as a shock. I call up the news and read what’s going on. The war has indeed begun. I jump out of bed, get dressed, wake my flatmate and tell him to pack his things. As a precaution.

I would spend the next week in Kharkiv, for the very last time.

We pack everything we need, documents, food. Luckily, we had bought enough for home a few days earlier. So wise! In the late afternoon, a friend who lives alone comes to visit. I didn’t want to leave him alone with all this. We sleep in the same bed for a week – with the window open so that we can hear what’s going on outside. We’re not hungry, we don’t eat. We even forget to shower. We’re afraid of it.

We go out for the first time on 28 February because we’ve run out of cigarettes and have started smoking again because we’re so nervous. It’s the fourth day of the war. We look around the neighbourhood. There are queues everywhere. You cannot get cigarettes around; the shops seem to be closed. At the end of the street we finally find a shop that’s open.

The Russians indiscriminately bombard the centre

It’s cold outside, the sky is overcast, we can’t see a thing. We queue for two, two and a half hours. When there are left only two people in front of us, we hear aeroplanes approaching and explosions. I’ve never been more scared in my life. The planes are bombing the city centre. Everyone runs wherever they can because you can’t see the planes behind the clouds. It’s very frightening. I’ll probably never forget that feeling.

Kharkiw in December 2022. Photo: Sibylle von Tiedemann

I hate the bastards who sit in these aeroplanes. The scum who built the rocket that’s flying towards me right now. It’s only 10 to 20 metres away. I can see it. That day it hits a group of people queuing at a pet shop nearby. One woman’s legs are shredded; she later dies in a hospital as a result of her injuries.

We give up to search for cigarettes and go home. The street is littered with “blind” rockets.

I fall asleep on the cold floor

In the evening again. They bomb the centre of Kharkiv with planes. The city centre, where normal people live. That evening I fall asleep in the corridor on the cold floor because I’m so exhausted.

I hardly get sleep in the days that follow. The shelling usually lasts until ten or eleven at night, and then it starts again at around six or seven in the morning. My two boys fall asleep quicker than I do because I always listen to potential noises.

I soon realise that I will lose my mind if I stay here. On 2 March, I decide to leave the city I’ve lived in for two years.

In peacetime, it takes me ten minutes and between 60 and 70 hryvnia to get to the station. Now a taxi costs between 3000 and 5000 hryvnia. I don’t have that much money. A boy and his father agree to give me a lift for 1000 hryvnia. They pick me up near my house. I’m carrying a suitcase that should last me another six months. We drive through an empty, destroyed city with Russian aeroplanes circling overhead.

The train station is full of people

I am extremely grateful to these people for getting me out of here. My friends from Dnipro persuaded me to join them in the city. And so I’m waiting for the evacuation train to Dnipro – for a whole day.

The station is overcrowded with people. There are two trains with women and children on board. The station staff and volunteers are handing out milk, water and biscuits. I don’t even have any water with me, which I will regret. My brain is trying to understand what is happening around me. It’s absurd, it’s madness; it can’t be. But it is reality.

Finally, my parents!

The train to Dnipro consists of three carriages. Only three carriages for the mass of people here. You could also say: “Like a herring in a jar”. So we are crammed into the train. We hear explosions nearby. We are all afraid that this carriage could become our coffin. When the train leaves, I breathe, I am relieved. The nightmare here is over. But the uncertainty and the view out of the window don’t make it any easier. I’m insanely thirsty and there’s no water. I spend the next six hours travelling to Dnipro, half unconscious.

I stay with my friends in Dnipro for a fortnight. Then I can finally go to Zaporizhia to see my parents. I’m staying until the beginning of April.

Escape to Kyiv

Sitting at home with nothing to do. That’s the worst! I leave Zaporizhia on 6 April and drive to the capital.

I’ve been living in Kyiv for a year and a half now. I’ve already changed jobs five times and I’m currently training to become a beauty consultant. I occasionally work as a drag queen, so it comes naturally.

In January, I helped organise a big Harry Potter performance, because I’ve always worked a lot with children. I understand that they need a fairy tale now – we all do, actually.

I had my own club project in Zaporizhia for six years. We’ve only been able to organise two parties there since the start of the war. Zaporizhia is a frontline city. It was so nice to finally have guests again.

Everything is so different now

The war changed a lot of things. It took away the family I used to see so often. My mother and sister now live in England, my father stayed in Zaporizhia with my grandmother. It’s only now that I realise how important my family has always been in my life.

The war also took my favourite city away from me. It took me a year to recover from moving. I miss my thriving, beautiful and beloved Kharkiv.

At least I’ve finally met someone I love. I was alone for six years and somehow it happened that now, four months later, it’s no longer like that. That’s probably the only thing I’m happy about.

Life goes on

I’m making plans and hope that it will all be over soon and we can all be together again. I dream of doing another cool (drag) production. But I don’t feel able to write the concept for it. Maybe one day I will, but I’m not sure.

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

The war is going on. Munich Kyiv Queer is therefore continuing to collect stories from LGBTIQ* people in Ukraine. We ask them: How do you live with this war? We want to raise awareness of the situation of queer people and collect donations. This is the story of Oleksandra.

Oleksandra held out in Mariupol for two months when the city had already been occupied by the Russian army. Then, as if by a miracle, she managed to get out. Her home was completely destroyed.

Oleksandra set off westwards with her girlfriend. They now live in Ivano-Frankivsk. That’s good, and they have even found jobs. However, the salary they receive barely covers the rent. And somehow they are not underprivileged enough to receive funds for food, medicine, toiletries and clothing. So “You are not alone” was really the only help they could reach out for and they are very grateful. Oleksandra and her girlfriend hope that we will continue to support the LGBTIQ* community in Ukraine. VIDEO

“You are not alone” is co-financed by the Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine alliance, of which Munich Kyiv Queer is also part of. These are your donations that make a difference here.

Thanks to all contributors!

Many thanks also to Oleksandra Semenova, who helped us with this video project. Thanks to Matt and Stas for the subtitles. And thanks to Nikita for the Ukrainian translations.

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

Pavel was drafted even before Russia launched its full-scale war. When the first shot was fired, Pavel was already sitting in the trenches. He has been fighting ever since. As a gay man, this is extra difficult for him: He’s afraid of the enemy, worries about his coming out and constantly thinks about his boyfriend, who is also serving. Our columnist Iryna Hanenkova presents Pavel’s story.

Hello. My name is Pasha, I’m 22 years old. I am a military man – an anti-aircraft gunner, and I am gay. I started my service with conscription. Then, when the full-scale war started, we were automatically taken to fight.

In the beginning there was bullying

During my service, no one knew about me until I got caught chatting with my partner. The correspondence was quite spicy.

After that, all my colleagues found out who I was. There was some verbal bullying, which sometimes turned into physical bullying.

During the war, everyone knew about me, word of mouth worked. The beginning of the war was difficult for me, as I had never had anything to do with war, and I had no training.

We did not fully believe that there could be a war at all. We were told to leave, so we left, dug trenches and just waited. When the first shelling started, I was really scared. Our commanders tried to make jokes so that we would not panic.

Most comrades know I’m gay

As for my orientation, many people do not care much. We have a task and we fulfill it. When it is calm, sometimes the guys would bring up topics related to my sexual orientation. These are mostly inappropriate jokes or topics that they talk about without understanding their essence. That’s just dumb.

Some moments offend me, and we often quarrel. But, in general, my orientation does not always cause me much trouble. Most of the guys accept the fact that I am gay.

Long-distance love is hard

When I was in Mykolaiv, I met my current partner Vladyslav. We texted and called each other for a week. After that, he came to see me, and we decided to try dating.

I must say that long-distance love is very difficult. Vladyslav was still a civilian at the time. When we moved to Donetsk, Vlad and I agreed that he should also go to the army. He serves in the Volyn region.

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

The Russian invasion a year and a half ago changed everything for Taras. After losing his job, he moved from Lviv to Kyiv to find work and start a new life. But his new love betrayed him, his colleagues bullied him at work, he was beaten up and his cousin was killed in the war. And yet Taras has not given up. Our columnist Iryna Hanenkova has written down his story.

Hello, my name is Taras. I am 20 years old, from Kyiv, but originally from Lviv. I am gay.

I lived with a friend in Lviv when the invasion started. On February 24, 2022, he came into my room and told me that the war had broken out. Of course, I didn’t believe him, but when I went to work, my bosses wrote that we should stay at home. It was the day we were supposed to receive our salaries and all the employees were left without money. Of course, they gave it to us later.

I saw a rocket hit nearby; the whole city was engulfed in smoke, it was terrible. The organization I worked for closed down. No one knew when it would reopen, so I was left without a job.

Painful coming out

That was hard, because I was completely on my own anyway. I hadn’t had any contact with my family since I came out. They took it well at first, but soon the arguments started. They said that I was ill, that I needed treatment and priests to pray for me. The arguments with people who were so close to me were very painful.

When there was another heavy rocket attack on our city, my friends took me home with them and I moved in. We volunteered, brought things to the emergency shelter for people who had left Kyiv and took in refugees for the night who later went abroad. I also worked in a theater where they delivered things and food from other countries. We sorted them and passed them on.

One day, a friend told me that a husky had been abandoned in Kyiv and I decided to take her home. I remember the moment when it was snowing, I was loading a truck and the dog, whom I called Bella, was running alongside me. When the alarm went off again, we ran into the cellar. There were lots of people there and Bella made everyone happy. I love her very much, I felt calmer with her. I had someone to look after.

Farewell to Bella

I found a job as a cook. I worked long hours and the dog suffered a lot from my absence. So I had to give Bella to a friend who had his own house. It was a very difficult decision, but there was no other way.

Then my previous job became available and I started combining two jobs and working seven days a week. Everything became more expensive, food, rent. So I just started working again as a social worker for Alliance Global, doing tests for HIV, syphilis and so on.

It was all really very difficult. In the kitchen where I worked, people found out about my sexual orientation and I was severely harassed. I put up with it for a month and then resigned.

There was no such nagging at my new job. I was supported, we all had a good working relationship. But there were misunderstandings with my boss. I resigned again and moved to a position as an administrative assistant.

And then, I met a man I really liked, through an app. One day I packed my things and went to Kyiv to meet him. And I realized that I wanted to move to the capital to be near him.

New love, new life

I had settled all my affairs in Lviv and was about to move away – but I had no money: I had debts, no friends except him. I saw an ad for an apartment on Facebook and moved to Kyiv. I knew nothing at all about my new flatmate, he was a complete stranger…

For one month, I was unemployed. And meeting the man who had made me leave Lviv was inspiring. I felt very happy. Later, however, I found out that my roommate wasn’t paying rent and I was supposed to pay for everything. That was very unpleasant, so I decided to move out again.

I became ill. Pain tormented my body: I found it difficult to speak. It was impossible for me to stand up on my own. Enduring two weeks of pain was the price I paid for not going to the doctor in time. It turned out that I had acute appendicitis and needed an operation.

I was incredibly scared. My friends sent me money and communication with my mother seemed to improve. But above all, the man I was in love with came and supported me. The operation was successful! We became closer, I felt cared for and supported.

I found work again. However, they found out about my sexual orientation there too and the bullying started again. There was a fight in front of customers and colleagues. I was provoked and humiliated, and one man started hitting me because he was disgusted by me. I put up with it because I needed money. It was winter, I was alone and my salary was low.

The separation from the BF

And then: my boyfriend blocked me on social media. The person I fell in love with, the person I left my hometown, my work and my friends for, the person I ate grapes with in the evening and chatted with until the morning! Something inside of me broke and a depression began that lasted three months. I later found out that he was an escort and that many people had contracted syphilis from him and that he had cheated on me in many ways.

I resigned. The depression, the loss of my job, the search for a new one, the lack of financial resources, everything I was experiencing and feeling at that time was brought to an end by a phone call from my mother. She told me that Andriy, my cousin, who was in territorial defense and was serving near Bakhmut at the time, had been killed. His wife and two small children were left alone.

The death of the cousin

I packed my things and drove straight to Lviv. The grief of the relatives, the longing for the deceased and the pain broke my heart. The body was brought a week later. It’s impossible to express everything I felt at the time, but I had no time for depression. The funeral was hard.

When I returned to Kyiv from the funeral, the company I was working for closed down because it was no longer making a profit. I only had a thousand hryvnia left in my pocket and I was supposed to pay the rent in a few days. And the landlady had already announced that she was going to increase the rent from 5,000 to 9,000 hryvnia. I thought about returning to Lviv…

The new beginning

Fortunately, I got some money, rented a room and got a job. That’s where I am now. Things are starting to improve. I’m now a manager in a café. Being gay is not a problem. My colleagues support me.

I really love my job. We organized a charity event with the drag queen Diva Milk. We turned the café into a small club that night, entertained people and raised money for the armed forces.

I have a great company that treats LGBTIQ* people well and supports me in everything. I want to develop in my work, organize interesting events and continue to donate to the armed forces. We believe in our victory!

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations

In her laudatory speech, Oleksandra Bienert from the Alliance of Ukrainian Organisations paid tribute to the work of our organisation over the past few years. We are priveliged to be able to publish the whole of her speech here.

To see each other, to really accept each other. To remove borders. To understand each other. To cope with what is really happening. To make visible the work of people whose work would normally remain invisible.

To be able to look people in the eyes, build partnerships with people. To be able to build a sustainable relationship that has already lasted decades. All this belongs to the contact group of the Munich Kyiv Queer organisation.

Award ceremony with the board members Ulf Kristal (l.) and Sven Warminsky (r.), laudator Oleksandra Bienert, Stanislav Mishchenko, Conrad Breyer and Stephanie Hügler, all Munich Kyiv Queer. Photo: Brigitte Dummer

If one reads the website description of Munich Kyiv Queer it is clear that the group is an interface between the queer communities of Munich, Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. They initiate, conceptualise, organise and begin projects, either alone or in coordination with other groups and organisations. They stand side by side with them providing help and advice. Though modest in actions, these people have made history. And they continue to make history.

The basis: A city partnership between Munich and Kyiv

The group came to be with the Munich Kyiv city partnership. The idea was to invite a delegation from Kyiv to Munich Pride in 2012. After this there were several exchanges between the city’s LGBTIQ* communites and thus began the long lived cooperation and the foundation of the Munich Kyiv Queer contact group. The first to be involved were, inter alia, Conrad, Sibylle, Uwe (in Munich) and Stas (in Kyiv).

The contact group grew, remains active and is always open. And when they want to build a bridge (whatever it may be) there is nothing that they won’t do in order to make it happen. Translation of books, exhibitions, making LGBTIQ* visible, especially trans* persons, collabs, workshops for volunteers from Ukraine learning about the queer community in Munich and so much more.

Anniversary of 40 years of Deutsche Aids-Hilfe. Photo: Brigitte Dummer

Always remaining open with all, Munich Kyiv Queer aims to be a bridge between the communities and self-help groups and remain transparent therein.

Now that the bridge has matured it has become far more than just a bridge. The bridge is part of the activities organised and one of the most important and successful international communal projects in Germany. It works in both German and Ukrainian communities. The projects reach and extend to the whole of Ukraine.

Extension of projects to the whole of Ukraine

Although it may sound easy, it requires mountains of work. And it has already had an effect on a whole generation, not only Ukrainians but Germans too. The partners of Munich Kyiv Queer now include groups throughout Ukraine: whether it be in Vinnitsa, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv or Lviv. Not to mention assorted organisations carrying out prevention of HIV infection.

A very important alliance was formed with Gay Alliance Ukraine especially in the regions. For example, when financial support of HIV prevention was halted in 2016, Munich Kyiv Queer financed the Queer Homes project. So what does it mean, a queer home in Ukraine? It is a safe space. It provides confidence and freedom of choice. It means being able to know someone without having to hide or lie about ones self.

Hans Peter Hauschild Award winners Conrad Breyer, Stephanie Hügler, Stanislav Mishchenko (from left) from Munich Kyiv Queer. Photo: Brigitte Dummer

Another beautiful example was the invitation of queer choirs from Ukraine to participate in a queer choirs festival in Munich (Various Voices 2018). With the experience learned from this event a similar one was arranged in Odesa: the Q festival. Now Ukrainians invited queer choirs from Munich to Odesa. I could go on at length with all the other projects that have been arranged…

The launch of Pride and the beginning of queer visibility

One of the most important milestones was the attendance of normally at least 20 people from the Munich community to Gay Pride in Kyiv, which began already in 2012. I am amazed at the courage of those who not only attended but affected the development of the Pride movement in Ukraine.

The first KyivPride carried danger to the health and lives of all those who joined it. The support and attendance by the international community ensured change of the event over the years. Political pressure was applied and Munich Kyiv Queer was one of the first groups that provided support. After a few years this intervention helped the Pride move to the high-streets. Both in the psychological as well as the actual sense.

KyivPride now happens!

Anniversary “40 years of Deutsche Aids-Hilfe” with Barbie Breakout (r.) and Holger Wicht. Photo: Brigitte Dummer

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24th of February 2022 Munich Kyiv Queer found itself fulfilling a new role as a help organisation – in particular for queer war victims in distress or fleeing.

Munich Kyiv Queer was co-founder of the “Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine” group (Queer Nothilfe Ukraine) along with over 40 other German organisations. They raised a million Euros for queer people in distress and work with 15 NGOs in Ukraine. Most important was the fast response that resulted from the contacts built over years with the Munich Kyiv Queer group.

Solidarity trip into the war zone

Members of Munich Kyiv Queer, inter alia Sibylle, travelled to Ukraine in order to show solidarity with their friends as well as providing help but most of all to be at their side. Sibylle experienced rocket attacks as well as thanks from Ukrainians that she will never forget. She documented her experiences in film and text, managing to raise 14 000 Euros in donations.

Munich Kyiv Queer also collected stories under the motto: ‘How does one live in a war?’ In order to make people aware of the situation of queer people. Here I’d like to recount the story of Lera, a trans* person from Oleshki in the Cherson region. Oleshki is still in Russian hands. Thanks to Munich Kyiv Queer we got to hear what life for a trans* person living in an occupied land is like. 

Lera managed, with the help of the Cherson organisation “Insha”, to escape via Crimea, Russia and finally Estonia to Berlin where she currently lives.

Anniversary “40 years of Deutsche Aids-Hilfe”. Photo: Brigitte Dummer

Munich Kyiv Queer is currently organising shelters for and ways of getting queer refugees out of Ukraine and into safety. The aim was and remains to bring queer refugees into German communities. A mammoth task, one of many mammoth tasks.

On the 11th of July 2023, a photography exhibition entitled “I am in Ukraine, I am out of Ukraine” was held in Berlin. It covered stories and photos of queer people there.

The exhibition was made by KyivPride and thanks to Munich Kyiv Queer was shown in German, too. The locations in Berlin were organised in cooperation with PlusUkrDe – Positive Ukranians In Germany. Again queer war experiences were made visible.

A big thank you to Munich Kyiv Queer

I want to thank Munich Kyiv Queer from the bottom of my heart for its work, its big heartedness, its courage and its bright example to all of the limitless solidarity and humanity it provides.

A lot more work still lies ahead of us. The Russian attack on Ukraine will continue for a while. In the meantime, people and in particular queer people in Ukraine as well as those fleeing the situation there need more than ever our help and support. We are in need of homes for refugees, safe spaces and more work against discrimination.

Hans Peter Hauschild Award winners Munich Kyiv Queer and AIDS-Hilfe Emsland. Photo: Brigitte Dummer

For the first time this year, official support for laws governing civil partnerships in Ukraine has been provided by the Defense and Justice ministries along with various factions in the Ukrainian Parliament. We now await the outcome from the debates. This breakthrough is thanks to international organisations such as Munich Kyiv Queer. With their ability they are making history.

Hans Peter Hausschild, the name of todays prize, stood completely for eradicating social restrictions.  Munich Kyiv Queer stands, with its limitless work, for exactly this spirit by conquering social borders and achieving solidarity.

With best wishes for the future

I would like to wish Munich Kyiv Queer much energy for its continued work and I am very happy to award the Hans Peter Hausschild prize to it today.

Munich Kyiv Queer continues collecting stories from LGBTIQ* in Ukraine. We want to know: How are you? Living with a war? Raising awareness for the situation of this vulnerable social group and mobilize support is our main goal right now. This is the story of Pavel.

Pavel comes from Mykolaiv. The town is close to the front and Pavel still lives there. He is grateful for the help he has received. Because he is sick, it is difficult for him to find work. And jobs are scarce in the middle of the war anyway. That is why he asked the NGO “You are not alone” for support. VIDEO

You are not alone” is supported by the German Queere Nothilfe Ukraine (Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine) and Munich Kyiv Queer is one of the 40 LGBTIQ*-organisations in Germany that have united forces to build this alliance one and a half year ago. As you can see: Your donations really help.

Thanks to the NGO “You are not alone”, especially Oleksandra Semenova, for carrying out this video project with us. Thanks to Matt and Stas for working on the subtitles. And thanks to Nikita for translating the German and English texts into Ukrainian.

This is how you can donate


INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.

All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.

HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine like “You are not alone” and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people like Volodymyr. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations