In Kyiv, a clash occurred between representatives of right-wing movements and the police near the “Zhovten” cinema, where Ukraineʼs first “Sunny Bunny” queer film festival is taking place.
Suspilne writes about this.
The “Sunny Bunny” Film Festival is taking place in Kyiv from April 18 to 25. The festivalʼs main program is full-length feature films on queer themes from around the world.
The festival was criticized online for its dates falling on Easter, and debated over how appropriate this was. The organizers explained that the dates were agreed in advance according to the international festival calendar and were supposed to be held in the second half of April.
Representatives of right-wing movements gathered for a protest near a cinema, and a scuffle broke out. Videos circulating on social media show a scuffle between police officers and young people.
The organization "Right Youth", whose members were present at the protest,noted that the event was peaceful, and its participants were unarmed and non-aggressive. But several dozen demonstrators were allegedly detained before the action even began.
In a comment to Radio Liberty, Natalia Krot, a press officer for the Podilsky Department of the National Police in Kyiv, denied the detention of the protest participants.
"No one is detaining anyone, simply because protesters have gathered against this film festival, suspicious people are being invited to the police station to establish all the circumstances and their identity," she said.
Materials are filed against protest participants in case of violations, but no such violations were recorded at the event. Police will be on duty near “Zhovten” throughout the film festival, until April 25. Enhanced security measures also continue through the Easter holidays.
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