Statement Ukrainian NGOs: Stop Putin’s Law In Europe

As Ukrainian civil society organizations, we are calling the member states of the European Union to intervene in the lawsuit brought by the European Commission against Hungary’s version of the Russian anti-propaganda law. The law spreads the destructive and murderous ideology that has been put forward by the Kremlin for decades.

Since 2013, with the introduction of the anti-propaganda law, the Kremlin has instrumentalized and scapegoated sexual and gender minorities. As every autocrat, Putin targets minority groups to consolidate a harmful and criminal political system. 

The outlawing of minority groups has played an instrumental part in Putin’s ideology. Through harassment and disinformation, LGBTIQ+ persons have been conflated with pedophiles. Fascist groups were encouraged to lure, torture, and kill LGBTIQ+ persons. Russian Republics in the Caucasus, Chechnya and Dagestan, have since 2017 systematically detained, tortured and killed sexual and gender minorities. 

This Russian law laid the basis for the brainwashing of most of the Russian society. Days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and former KGB agent Patriarch Kirill declared that “gay pride parades are to blame”. He’s sanctioned by the United States. Vladimir Putin has in recent speeches argued that Russia is fighting against the “Satanist West” – directly linking it to LGBTIQ+ rights. 

Today, we see the first seeds of these dangerous ideology being implemented inside the European Union. In 2021, the government of Viktor Orbán has introduced its version of the anti-propaganda law. Since then, Orban has been conflating LGBTIQ+ persons with pedophiles, and is using the Kremlin’s playbook in censoring the country’s sexual and gender minorities. 

Russia has been supporting anti-LGBTIQ+ groups and policymakers in the EU as part of their strategy to destabilize Europe. This form of malign foreign influence has taken place unpunished for over a decade. 

The lawsuit started by the European Commission against the ‘anti-LGBT propaganda law’ is the chance for the European Union, and its Member States, to stop the Kremlin’s ideology and playbook from spreading inside the Union. 

This statement has been signed by the following NGOs:

1. LGBT Human Rights Nash Svit Center, Andriy Maymulakhin, Coordinator
2. Public Organisation “Spectrum Kharkiv”, Vasyl Malikov, Director 
3. KyivPride NGO, Lenny Emson, Acting Director
4. Gender Zed NGO, Rostyslav Milevskyi, Director
5. Cohort NGO, Anastasiia Yeva Domani, Executive Director
6. Fulcrum UA NGO, Tania Kasian, Executive Director
7. NGO “You are not alone”, Oleksandra Semenova, Coordinator
8. All-Ukrainian Public Organisation “Gay Forum of Ukraine”
9. NGO WA Sphere, Anna Sharyhina, Program Chair
10. LGBT Association ‘LIGA’, Oleg Alyokhin, Chairperson
11. Ukrainian LGBT Military for Equal Rights human rights defense organization; Viktor Pylypenko; Head of the NGO
12. UPO “Gay Alliance Ukraine”, Stanislav Naumenko, Head of the Board