Russian officials may have been reading too many comic books …

KYIV, May 31 (Reuters) – As volunteer fighters Oleksandr Zhuhan and Antonina Romanova pack for a return to active duty, they contemplate the unicorn insignia that gives their uniform a rare distinction – a symbol of their status as an LGBTQ couple who are Ukrainian soldiers.

Members of Ukraine’s LGBTQ community who sign up for the war have taken to sewing the image of the mythical beast into their standard-issue epaulettes just below the national flag.

The practice harks back to the 2014 conflict when Russia invaded then annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, “when lots of people said there are no gay people in the army,” actor, director and drama teacher Zhuhan told Reuters as he and Romanova dressed in their apartment for their second three-month combat rotation.

“So they (the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community) chose the unicorn because it is like a fantastic ‘non-existent’ creature.”

Zhuhan and Romanova, who identifies as a non-binary person with she/her pronouns and moved to the capital from Crimea after being displaced in 2014, met through their theatre work.

Neither was trained in the use of weapons but, after spending a couple of days hiding in their bathroom at the start of the war, decided they had to do more.

“I just remember that at a certain point it became obvious that we only had three options: either hide in a bomb shelter, run away and escape, or join the Territorial Defence (volunteers). We chose the third option,” Romanova said.

Russia says its forces are on a “special operation” to demilitarise Ukraine and rid it of radical anti-Russian nationalists. Ukraine and its allies call that a false pretext for a war of aggression.

For Zhuhan and Romanova, their vocation gives them an added sense of responsibility.

“Because what Russia does is they don’t just take our territories and kill our people. They want to destroy our culture and… we can’t allow this to happen,” Zhuhan said.

Their first tour of duty around Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, about 135 km (80 miles) from the port of Odesa, changed their lives. They fought in the same unit and found it terrifying, Zhuhan contracted pneumonia, but, the couple says, their fellow fighters accepted them.

“There was no aggression, no bullying… It was a little unusual for the others. But, over time, people started calling me Antonina, some even used my she pronoun,” Romanova said.

There was much back-slapping as they joined their new unit at Kyiv’s central station for a second three-month stint. Some of the team Zhuhan and Romanova knew but the commanders were not at the station.

“I’m a little worried about that,” he said, the mood becoming more sombre as the unit headed towards their train as dusk fell. “I know that in some units, the rules are more strict… It wasn’t like that in our (first) unit.”

Zhuhan’s unease lifts as one commander makes clear his refusal to tolerate homophobia, and a more senior officer says the only important thing on the front line is to be a good fighter, he subsequently tells Reuters by phone.

But one overriding fear, voiced back in their apartment, remains.

“The thing I’m worried about is that in case I get killed during this war, they won’t allow Antonina to bury me the way I want to be buried,” Zhuhan said.

“They’d rather let my mum bury me with the priest reading silly prayers… But I am an atheist and I don’t want that.”

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A mouthpiece for Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed the war in Ukraine could see the introduction of “gay super soldiers”.

Sergei Markov, a former adviser to the Russian president, claimed the United States were involved in a brainwashing plot to turn troops into homosexuals.

Ukraine’s military would then be packed full of LGBTQ+ members, according to mad Markov who claimed they were attempting to replicate the lifestyles of Greek Spartans.

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He believes through “neuro-linguistic programming” and a selection of other brainwashing techniques, that Ukrainian soldiers will be turned gay against their will and sent off to fight, stronger like ancient Greek soldiers.

‘Gay super soldiers’ could find themselves fighting in Ukraine, according to a Russian mouthpiece (Image: Shutterstock / Bumble Dee)

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Markov claimed: “Military theorists and historians know which army in Greece was the strongest, remember? The Spartans! They were united by a homosexual brotherhood.

“They were all homos. These were the politics of their leadership. I think they are planning the same for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

“They have an artificial political science fascism created by American and British political technologists. They will turn them into zombies, into cult members. I think they will force some to become homosexuals.”

Madman Markov even alleged the “zombified” troops would be “unified through gay sex” and “sacrificed” as a way of pledging their allegiance to the Ukrainian military, LGBTQNation reported.

Putin’s mouthpiece fumed at ‘zombified’ and ‘cult’ soldiers (Image: AP)Furthermore, Markov claimed there was a firm date in order for the rise of gay super soldiers with an equivalent brutality to infamous Greek Spartans like the Sacred Band of Thebes.

He said: “These renewed troops of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, zombified and unified through gay sex, along with cult members ready to sacrifice themselves. This is what they’re preparing for us in the spring 2025.”

Scatterings of historical evidence show Spartans of Ancient Greece could have been encouraged into homosexual acts as a way to stay in the military.

They were also expected to “age out” of said activities at a certain point in their military training.

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Source: MEGAA mouthpiece for Vladimir Putin recently claimed that Ukraine is preparing to introduce “gay super soldiers” into the war against Russia.

A mouthpiece for Vladimir Putin recently claimed that Ukraine is preparing to introduce “gay super soldiers” into the war against Russia, RadarOnline.com has learned.

In a sensational development to come nearly 18 months after Putin first invaded Ukraine in February 2022, former Putin advisor Sergei Markov indicated that the Ukraine military is creating “gay super soldiers.”

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Source: MEGAFormer Putin advisor Sergei Markov indicated that the Ukraine military is creating “gay super soldiers.”

Also surprising were Markov’s claims that the United States was involved in the alleged brainwashing plot that sought to turn Ukrainian soldiers “into homosexuals.”

According to Markov, the United States and Ukraine are utilizing “neuro-linguistic programming” and other “brainwashing techniques” to turn Ukrainian soldiers “gay against their will.”

He also likened the “gay super soldiers” to those who fought in ancient Greece.

“Military theorists and historians know which army in Greece was the strongest, remember? The Spartans!” Markov explained. “They were united by a homosexual brotherhood.”

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Source: MEGAMarkov also claimed that the United States was involved in the alleged brainwashing plot.

“They were all [homosexuals],” he continued, according to Daily Star. “These were the politics of their leadership. I think they are planning the same for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.”

Markov then indicated that the United Kingdom was also involved in the alleged scheme before adding that other Ukrainian soldiers would be turned into “zombies” and “cult members.”

“They have an artificial political science fascism created by American and British political technologists,” he charged, although it is unclear what evidence Markov used to make the wild claims.

“They will turn them into zombies, into cult members,” he continued. “I think they will force some to become homosexuals.”

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Source: MEGA“They have an artificial political science fascism created by American and British political technologists,” Markov charged.

According to Markov, the “gay super soldiers,” “zombies,” and “cult members” will be deployed onto the frontlines of the war in Ukraine “in the spring of 2025.”

“These renewed troops of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, zombified and unified through gay sex, along with cult members ready to sacrifice themselves,” he said this week.

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“This is what they’re preparing for us in the spring of 2025.”

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, this would not be the first time that Putin and his closest associates accused Ukraine and the United States of being engaged in a wild conspiracy against Russia.

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Source: MEGAIt is unclear what evidence, if any, Markov used to make his wild claims.

Earlier this year, another Putin crony accused the United States of training “genetically modified mosquitos” to attack Moscow.

“I will name just one Pentagon project, called Allied Insects,” Russian MP Irina Yarovaya charged in July. “How do you assess these risks and threats?”

“How are we prepared? Parliament has established a commission on biological threats,” she continued. “We are waiting for specific proposals to ensure the economic security of our country.”

That claim was met with ridicule from Russian citizens to took to social media to undermine Yarovaya’s sensational mosquito allegations.

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