Parliament passed legislation in 2015 year to ban discrimination against homosexuals in the workplace as part of a series of laws Ukraine needed to pass to qualify for an EU visa-free travel agreement.Īt the time of the vote, then speaker of the parliament Volodymyr Groysman, who is now prime minister, said Ukraine would never support gay marriage. The Ukrainian authorities have increased their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender rights since the pro-Western government came to power in 2014 after the Maidan protests. 'EuroMaidan was not only against Yanukovych, it was against corruption and for human rights as well,' he said. The fact that the march took place in the center of the capital and with such heavy police support was a sign of changes in Ukrainian society, said Serhiy Leshchenko, a member of parliament who attended the march. Some of the marchers carried rainbow flags and Ukrainian flags and chanted 'human rights come first!'Ī number of Ukrainian politicians also took part, including two from President Petro Poroshenko's parliamentary group.