/Interview by Tetyana Ogarkova

/Translated by Natalie Vikhrov

According to official figures, more than 25,000 women serve in Ukraine’s army - that’s almost 23% of the total number of people serving in the country’s armed forces. Nastya Konfederat (pseudonym, she does not reveal her real surname -ed.) is a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, a military cartographer and drone operator.

Most recently, on January 27, she found herself in the middle of a scandal when her friend, Yaryna Chornohuz, got into an argument with a bus driver regarding the airing of a Russian television show in a bus between two Ukrainian cities Lutsk and Kyiv. Nastya's military experience dates back to 2015 and is associated with volunteer battalions. But she is not included in these statistics.

She is also public about her sexuality and considers herself a nationalist, despite the well-known aggressive attitude of the ultra-right towards the LGBT community.

Nastya was one of some three dozen veterans who bravely took part in the Kyiv Pride equality march last June. It was the first time members of the military and veterans formed their own column for the equality march, which took place in the country’s capital for the fifth year in a row and was widely covered by television stations.

Nastya says that this was her first momentous event as an LGBT activist. She insisted on marching under the black and red flag (historically used by Ukrainian nationalists). Among friends who walked alongside in a separate column, there were other LGBT soldiers who professed nationalist ideas.

Nastya is sharp and energetic, confident in herself and her abilities, and says she doesn’t feel discriminated against. She is not afraid, because she has learned how to stop negative comments coming at her with one glance. At the same time, she recognizes there are others who are less fortunate. This is why she became involved in LGBT activism as part of the veteran community. Read more via hromadske international