Gay men are being threatened and blackmailed to fight for Russia in Ukraine, according to LGBTQ Nation.
This blackmailing began even prior to September 21, 2022, when Putin announced the partial mobilization of troops towards Ukraine. In that year, three men were sent to the front lines as “volunteers,” according to Russian publication The Insider.
Human rights group SK SOS, based in Chechnya, reported the story to The Insider in September. In 2022, men in Chechnya had their homes raided and were detained on suspicion of being homosexual. They were threatened with false criminal charges and told they would be placed in pre-trial detention with their sexual identity made public. The men were then given the choice of paying a ransom, 1.5 million ruples ($17,000), or volunteering for the war in Ukraine. One of the men has been reported as killed in action, according to SK SOS.
In 2017, Chechnyan officials instigated a violent raid, kidnapping of dozens of men accused of being gay. Using dating apps, word-of-mouth reporting, and raiding gay gathering places, the government held the men in facilities for days where they were tortured, starved, and humiliated. Some men were released back to their families, who were encouraged to carry out “honor killings,” according to Human Rights Watch.
Raids and crackdowns have continued since then, with Chechnya officially denying the existence of any homosexual men within the republic. SK SOS has reported that there has been an increase in the number of detentions in August of this year, though the policy of kidnapping and blackmailing men into the army has continued since it was first reported in 2022.
SK SOS is a crisis group established in 2021 to provide assistance to LGBTQ+ people in the North Caucasus. In recent years, reports The Insider, SK SOS has been known for its “efforts to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from abuse by Chechen authorities, including forced conscription into military service.”
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