Before Kiev celebrates Pride on Sunday, Roman Ivasiy and Anton Pozdnyakov want to speak publicly about their wedding in the hope it will help change hostile attitudes toward same-sex couples in Ukraine and give courage to those “struck dumb with fear”. Under Western-backed leadership, Ukraine’s parliament passed legislation in 2015 to ban discrimination in the workplace as part of a series of laws Ukraine needed to pass to qualify for an European Union visa-free travel agreement. But activists say homophobia remains widespread. “There are people who are afraid to even think about (marrying a same-sex partner). And because of this way of thinking, they are unable find a soul mate, because they are struck dumb with fear, pure fear, and they are unhappy,” Pozdnyakov said.