The Shiin Evropisken Facebook page, whose pieces of disinformation have been verified by FactCheck multiple times in the past, has posted a piece of footage with the following caption: “🇺🇦 There was an official same-sex wedding between the Ukrainian service member, Alina Shevchenko, and LGBT activist, Stanislava Petlitsa!!🇺🇦🏳️🌈 Slava Ukraini, right?!”

Alina Shevchenko, who has been serving in Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2015, and LGBTQ+ activist, Stanislava Petlitsa, married as part of performance during Kharkiv Pride. The symbolic wedding was conducted on 25 August 2023 in Kharkiv and was aimed to protest that same-sex partners are not allowed to marry.

In fact, same-sex marriage is banned in Ukraine. According to Article 51 of the Constitution of Ukraine: “Marriage is based on the free consent of a woman and a man. Each of the spouses shall have equal rights and duties in the marriage and family.” Therefore, it was impossible for Alina Shevchenko and Stanislava Petlitsa to have an official marriage in Kharkiv.

Therefore, the claim that a same-sex wedding was officially conducted in Kharkiv is false.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article was produced as part of Facebook’s Fact-checking Programme. Given the rating, Facebook may impose different restrictions – click herefor full information. For information on issuing a correction or to dispute a rating, please see here.