The Kyiv Independent reported that, in a landmark decision, Kyiv’s Desniansky District Court formally recognized a same-sex couple as a family. Ukraine does not recognize same-sex marriages or partnerships; however, this ruling may serve as a critical legal milestone in expanding rights for LGBTQ+ families.
The case involves Zoryan Kis, first secretary of Ukraine’s Embassy in Israel, and partner Tymur Levchuk; they have lived together since 2013 and were married in the U.S. in 2021. Last month, the court ruled that their relationship constitutes a de facto marriage, establishing them as a family under Ukrainian law. The ruling came after Ukraine’s foreign ministry refused to acknowledge Levchuk as Kis’ family member, denying him spousal rights to accompany Kis on his diplomatic posting to Israel—prompting the couple to file a legal complaint in September 2024.
Erasing 76 Crimes ran a story on how LGBTQ+ soldiers in Ukraine are fighting for their country—and for respect. Roman Abrashyn—a 25-year-old gay drone pilot in the Ukrainian army—said that most of his fellow soldiers acted neutrally when told of his sexual orientation, but he added that he’s worried that hundreds of openly LGBTQ+ soldiers in Ukraine don’t enjoy the same rights as their straight comrades. An interesting stat is that up to 10% of soldiers in Ukraine are thought to be from the LGBTQ+ community. The bill on registered partnerships is one of the central demands of the LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine, as such a law would allow partners to receive medical information or inherit or receive social benefits in the event of death; however, it has been under discussion in the committees of the Ukrainian parliament for more than two years.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the head of the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith, told an Italian reporter that same-sex blessings would continue, PinkNews noted, citing the National Catholic Reporter. Asked if Pope Leo would backtrack, he replied, “I really don’t think so; the declaration will remain.” The declaration, approved by Pope Francis, made clear that such blessings could not be compared to marriage. The current pontiff has previously said that family is “founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman” but added, “No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.”
Winnie Byanyima—the executive director of UNAIDS, the global agency tackling AIDS—said she expects HIV rates to soar and deaths to multiply in the next four years as a direct impact of the “seismic” U.S. cuts to aid spending, The Guardian reported. She said that if the funding permanently disappeared, the world faced an additional 6 million HIV infections and 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2029. “It is a deadly funding crisis, a global response knocked totally off course. This is a pandemic, and pandemics have no borders,” she told The Guardian. Byanyima, a Ugandan aeronautical engineer/politician who has led UNAIDS since 2019, said seeing the impact of President Donald Trump’s cuts had been the worst experience of her life.
In Britain, a Reform UK-run council backtracked on its “trans-related” library book ban, suggesting the move is “not a change of policy” after conflicting social-media posts from councillors, per The Independent. Initially, Kent County Council (KCC) leader Linden Kemkaran said the books were to be removed immediately after a fellow Reform Councillor said he had been informed of “transgender ideologies” in the children’s section of a library. However, the KCC has since said that the book that triggered the ban was actually on display at the front of a library in Herne Bay rather than the children’s section. The council’s Liberal Democrat opposition leader, Antony Hook, said that Reform not following “proper process” in the council and that announcing developments on social media created uncertainty.
Also in the UK, Liverpool Pride is back on after a queer-rights organization stepped in, per PinkNews. The July 26 event was canceled in June due to “significant financial and organizational challenges”, organizers said. However, Liverpool’s oldest LGBTQ+ group, Sahir House, announced it managed to “turn things around” and promised the event would be “louder, prouder and truly ours.” To raise money, Sahir House has launched a fundraiser to “help deliver Pride 2025 and safeguard the charity’s year-round work.” Two years ago, Liverpool Pride hosted a march on behalf of Kyiv Pride in Ukraine due to the ongoing war with Russia, with members from Ukraine and other parts of Europe joining them.
At London Pride, thousands of people attended but prominent LGBTQ+ figures at the event voiced concern that transgender people are being “villainized more than ever,” per The Guardian. Singer/actor Olly Alexander and writer Shon Faye were among those criticizing a UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman at London’s annual celebration of LGBTQ+ communities. Alexander told the PA news agency, “Trans people right now, they need our support and love more than ever, they’re being villainized, demonized in the press, by a lot of the media, and trans people they’re just like us. … They’re you, they’re me.” Singer Chaka Khan headlined a concert in Trafalgar Square after the march.
JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) condemned the arson and looting carried out by extremists at the residence of a hijra—a South Asian term for a third-gender person—in Kali Kachh Union in Sarail Upazila in eastern Bangladesh, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. Sources related that extremist locals set fire to and looted the residence of Sohel Asha and his family, who lived there for 20 years. Bangladeshi human-rights lawyer and JMBF Founding President Shahanur Islam said, in part, “The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees equal rights to all citizens, but in reality, the hijra community continuously faces discrimination and violence. This brutal attack on Sohel Asha is not only a personal loss but an assault on the safety and dignity of the entire gender-diverse community.”
The first LGBTQ+ retirement home in France is slated to open its doors in Lyon this fall, The Connexion noted. The Maison de la Diversité (House of Diversity)—a pioneering project in the historic La Croix-Rousse neighborhood—will have its official opening in early October, with the first residents moving in from the end of August. The home is the brainchild of the association Les Audacieuses & Les Audacieux, which was founded in 2017 and works to prevent social isolation of LGBTQ+ people and those with HIV as they get older. The project was inspired by a similar community in Berlin called Lebensort Vielfalt, and joins other LGBTQ+ retirement homes in countries such as the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark.
In Australia, transgender advocates recently criticized the panel assembled to conduct the Queensland government’s review of puberty blockers for lacking experts in gender-affirming care and people with lived experience of trans healthcare, The Guardian noted. The state government opened its independent review of stage 1 and stage 2 hormone therapies in Queensland’s public pediatric gender services to public submissions, but kept the panel conducting the review secret until last month. The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) Chief Executive Eloise Brook said, “Imagine this was a review of cardiac services and there were no cardiologists on the review panel.”
Two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya partially prevailed at the European Court of Human Rights in her seven-year legal fight against track and field’s sex-eligibility rules, the AP reported. By a 15-to-two vote, the court ruled that Semenya had some of her rights to a fair hearing violated at Switzerland’s Supreme Court, where she had appealed a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in favor of track’s World Athletics. The original case between Semenya and track’s governing body based in Monaco was about whether athletes like her—who have specific medical conditions, a typical male chromosome pattern and naturally high testosterone levels—should be allowed to compete freely in women’s sports. The case will now boomerang back to the Swiss federal court in Lausanne.
Guatemalan drag performer Hilary Rivers has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in San Francisco, per PinkNews. Rivers—who moved to the United States after enduring persecution in his homeland—had just heard a judge at his scheduled asylum hearing deny the government’s motion to dismiss his application; he was arrested as he left the courtroom. San Francisco Pride has called on members of the LGBTQ+ community to write letters of solidarity to Rivers and sign up for updates on its call-to-action form. Although same-sex relations are legal in Guatemala, the country does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions; in addition, LGBTQ+ individuals face significant legal and social challenges. See Call to Action at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18PQB0ELo32OROnmluo1djnA9e5GHvLs1xgPeXlWM7g4/edit?tab=t.0 .
Out gay visual artist Tarun Godara has lost his last appeal to stay in Canada and is facing deportation to India after eight years of residency, the Times of India reported. In several interviews with Canadian media, he said he fears for his life in India because he has already started receiving homophobic messages on social media telling him that once he’s in India, he will be “turned straight.” Godara said coming to study at a Canadian college in 2017 was a relief from his closeted life in India, adding that he was sexually assaulted by two men in 2013, when he was 19. In part, a court said Godara could not prove he was raped in India because of his sexual orientation.
The Gay Project—one of Ireland’s longest-standing LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations—announced the launch of Cork Queer College, a pioneering educational initiative aimed at creating a radically inclusive learning environment for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies, according to SceneMag. The announcement followed the Gay Project’s recent milestone—the acquisition of its first permanent community-owned center in Ballintemple, Cork. Gay Project chair Stephen Spillane described the college as “a bold step forward in reclaiming education as a space of empowerment for queer people.” Some of the courses for September-December 2025 include “GOLDen Plates: Air Fryer Course for Older Men,” “Creative Calm: Stress Management Through Art with Rainbow DiverseAbilities” and “Transcend: Make Up for Trans Women with Gender Rebels.” More info is at this link.
Attitude cover subject Yungblud has revealed that his ex-partner Jessie Jo Stark helped him come to terms with his pansexuality. The British “Zombie” singer called the singer/actor, who he was in a three-year relationship with until their split last November, “the most five-dimensional person I’e ever met.” He credited her with helping him to “navigate” his sexuality even though she is “completely straight,” adding that their breakup was a “me problem.” Yungblud also said regarding his sexuality: “I am the pan man—I’m the fucking saucepan. Because it’s the [label] that allows me to be who I am; it’s the one with the most room for maneuver. Do you know what I’m saying? I do feel like I am less insecure about it.”
In the UK, Sir Elton John and Mick Jagger were among 150 guests who recently attended a state banquet in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron at Windsor Castle, per Town & Country. John also has a house in France and his main home is just down the road from Windsor Castle. His husband, David Furnish, was also present. Other well-known faces at the event included actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, who took part in the royal procession. Regarding the menu, the appetizer consisted of summer vegetables with raw tomatoes, followed by chicken with Norfolk asparagus and tarragon cream, with iced black currant parfait on sponge with elderflower jelly for dessert.
Australian non-binary DJ/producer G Flip announced their third studio album, Dream Ride, arriving Sept. 5 via AWAL Recordings, per a press release. In addition, G Flip released a new single titled “In Another Life,” available now on all streaming platforms. G Flip said, “When diving in and writing this record, I was sonically captivated by the [‘80s]. I love the use of reverb, the drum tones, all the sonics, the musicality, the soloing, and big drum moments. I also really wanted to make a world to accompany the music and storytelling.”
Global girl group Katseye dropped their second EP, Beautiful Chaos—and it’s the song “Mean Girls” that has piqued interest in the queer community, Queerty noted. During the outro of the song, the members sing, “God bless the T-girls / And all the in-between girls.” Two members of Katseye have openly discussed their queerness and the track was co-written by gay musician/songwriter Justin Tranter. “We work a lot with the trans community all the time, whether it’s fashion or music,” Katseye member Lara told Rolling Stone. “We are constantly around trans women, and I think we have so much love and respect for them. We wanted to shout them out.”
Out gay Australian soccer player Josh Cavallo has shared a major life update, as he is set for an overseas transfer with his fiancé, per PinkNews. On Instagram, Cavallo stated, “Farewell, Australia. Greetings UK. It’s not goodbye forever, but now, it’s time to leave the nest with my fiancé by my side.” Cavallo has not yet revealed details of the team he will be moving to in the UK, as his deal is reportedly still being finalized. Nonetheless, he has made it clear that fiancé Leighton Morrell, whom he proposed to last year on Adelaide United FC’s Coopers Stadium field, will be joining him for the next chapter in their lives.