Responding to the disruption by far-right groups of an LGBTI rights meeting organized by Amnesty International in Kyiv on Thursday evening, Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, said:

"Given the police’s repeated inaction over such attacks, it is no surprise that members of Ukrainian far-right groups take full advantage of their impunity - repeatedly attacking individuals and groups whose views or identity they dislike.

“For the authorities in Ukraine to tolerate such incidents – many of which have been violent and resulted in injuries – and fail to prosecute the perpetrators shows a shameful disregard for the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”