“There was no aggression, no bullying,” Antonina said, explaining that the others found it a little unusual. But, the couple rejoiced in the fact that their fellow fighters accepted them. The pair fought in the same unit and found it terrifying, with Oleksandr contracting pneumonia in the process.
Being an LGBTQ+ couple, with Antonina identifying as non-binary, with pronouns she/her, they were worried whether other soldiers would accept themĪfter some essential training, they were sent on their first tour of duty around Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, about 135km (80 miles) from the port of Odessa. We chose the third option,” Antonina told Reuters. “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 Defense. Neither of them was trained in the use of weapons or had served in the army previously, yet after a couple of days hiding in their bathroom, they were faced with few choices. The pair had no former training or military experience, however, they joined the frontline with other fellow Ukrainians
