Ukrainian riot police line up to protect gay pride parade in Kiev

A gay and lesbian rights activist stands between Ukrainian riot police as the annual Gay Pride parade gets under way in Kiev yesterday.

The first-ever Gay Pride march in the Ukrainian capital was held in 2015 and had to be called off after right-wing protesters pelted participants with smoke bombs. Marches in 2016 and last year, however, passed off peacefully.

This year, riot police had to openuptherouteofthemarch, which had been blocked by protesters, 56 of whom were arrested. But the parade itself – which attracted at least 2,000 marchers –passedoff without any serious incident.