(UPDATED) FALSE: Separate recruitment for LGBT representatives to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions

An announcement is circulating online claiming that separate recruitment is being conducted for LGBT community representatives to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Allegedly, President Zelenskyi has no one else to send to war and is now inviting LGBT individuals to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In reality, the organization “Ukrainian LGBT+ Military for Equal Rights” has not made such announcements. LGBT individuals serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine on equal terms, without a separate recruitment process.

The photo of the announcements includes contact details of the public organization “Ukrainian LGBT+ Military for Equal Rights” (the QR code provided in the announcement leads to the organization’s website), which indeed represents the interests of LGBT military personnel. We reached out to this organization for comment, and they confirmed that the announcement is fake.

According to the organization, there are between 50,000 to 100,000 LGBT military personnel serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.  According to various studies, from 2% to 7% of the total number of people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine may be representatives of the military gay, bisexual, lesbian, trans*person, non-binary and queer community. They are currently awaiting the adoption of draft law No. 9103, “On the Institute of Registered Partnerships”, which would help their partners receive official information from authorities in case of captivity, or disappearance, and have the right to official recognition of remains or inheritance of property.