In Ukraine, the court for the first time recognized a de facto marital relationship between two men

The Desnyansky District Court of Kyiv recognized the existence of a de facto marital relationship between two men — the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel Zoryan Kis and his partner, public activist Tymur Levchuk.

The corresponding decision was published in the Unified Register of Court Decisions. Details about it were reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" and the LGBT public organization "Insight".

Kis has been serving in the diplomatic service abroad since 2024. He tried to get permission to reunite with his partner, who is currently in Ukraine. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to send Kisʼs partner on a business trip as a member of the diplomatʼs family, since domestic legislation recognizes the concept of marriage only as a family union between a woman and a man.

Therefore, the men decided to go to court to recognize the fact of the existence of a marital relationship between them.

The men told the court that they have been living together as civil partners since 2013. In 2017, they held a civil marriage ceremony, and in 2021 they married in the United States, as evidenced by an American-style marriage certificate.

The court also questioned witnesses who said that the men had been living together for a long time, leading a common life, buying things and food together, buying a car, and generally being a full-fledged family. The court also examined family photos of the men, photos from their wedding ceremony, flight tickets, etc.

As a result, the court ruled to establish the fact of cohabitation as one family (de facto marital relations).

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