Despite missiles and drones continuing to strike the city, Kyiv’s nightlife goes on. Drag queen shows and, more generally, Ukraine’s queer scene have become an outlet and source of entertainment not only for young people but also for a part of the Ukrainian population that previously did not frequent these venues. With the curfew starting at 11:00 PM and electricity restrictions in place, shows—which before the war began at nightfall and continued until dawn—have now turned into afternoon performances. But it is not just the schedule that has changed; the audience has also expanded: families and soldiers returning from the front have started attending Portum, one of the main clubs of Ukraine’s LGBTQ+ community.

“At first, it was strange to see such unusual faces inside the club,” says Eva Brownie, one of Kyiv’s leading drag queens. “Then we got used to it and realized they were there for something. Everyone has their own battlefield. Mine is in people’s minds: I help them escape their darkest thoughts.”

The war in Ukraine is not only about the military aspect. War rhetoric is often accompanied by ideological statements. In early October 2022, the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, accused the “Western world” of promoting “gender theory.” From the stage in Moscow, where he was celebrating the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Putin rallied the crowd, asking, “Do we want our children to be indoctrinated to believe that genders other than male and female exist?”

Marlen Scandal, a singer, performer, and Ukrainian drag queen, indirectly responds to the Russian president: “It’s ironic, but the war has actually helped to break down stereotypes. The clothes you wear, who you sleep with, whether you wear makeup or not… these things no longer matter. The only thing that matters is whether you are ready to defend your country. This is perhaps the only positive note in this story, but it’s sad that it took a war to make it happen.”