When a Ukrainian soldier asked Leda Kosmachevska to become his wife, she said yes. But there were no romantic intentions behind the request. The soldier, her childhood friend, is gay. Under Ukrainian law, he is not allowed to marry his partner. The marriage of convenience is his only hope to give his partner, at least through the Ukrainian, the right to make decisions and dispose of property in a serious situation.
The gay soldier volunteered in February to fight for his homeland. Now he needs to be transferred to the combat zone. The soldier is very concerned about what will happen to him and his life partner if he dies or is unable to act. The Ukrainian soldier has no close relatives. Kosmachevska agreed to become his wife. “Not because I love him, but because my country’s president has not yet responded to society’s demand by signing the same-sex marriage petition,” she wrote on Facebook.
If her future husband dies, she will support her life partner, she told BBC News Ukraine. Marriage has legal benefits. Because: The woman can sign documents, visit the man in hospital and inherit his assets or demand compensation. The soldier’s partner cannot do this. The fact that the two have been in a relationship for 15 years is irrelevant to the law.
Same-sex marriages are illegal in Ukraine
When the Ukrainian soldier returns alive, the two want a divorce. Kosmatschewska insists she is not an LGBT activist, but marries her boyfriend out of love for her country. “I will become his wife because I love my country and I hope this country loves all its citizens, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation,” she says.
In Ukraine, there was an electronic petition for the legalization of same-sex marriage last summer. More than 25,000 signatures were collected – enough to push for a response from the head of state. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (44) then referred to the constitution in the Family Code. Marriage is the union between a man and a woman. According to Selenski, this basic law cannot be changed during the war. According to the human rights center Our World, only 23.6 percent of Ukrainian citizens support the legalization of same-sex marriage.
It is questionable whether Kosmatschewska will be able to marry her gay boyfriend now that she has publicly stated her intentions. Under certain circumstances, the marriage of convenience is not even concluded or is later disputed. Since the primary purpose of a marriage in Ukraine should be family planning, blood relatives could have an interest in challenging the marriage in court, the Ukrainian newspaper Pravda writes.