Elton John congratulates Ukraine on passing LGBT equality law weeks after visit

Good news from Ukraine today (November 13), where lawmakers have just passed a workplace equality law that prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Buzzfeed reports that the new law was passed as part of a raft of legislation required for Ukraine to qualify for a program allowing its citizens to travel to the EU without needing visas. The vote comes just weeks after Sir Elton John visited the country to promote LGBT rights.

The Rocket Man singer was quick to celebrate the news on Instagram, posting a collection of images from his visit back in September and congratulating “everyone who supported us”.

“AMAZING NEWS!!! Back in September, I flew to the Ukraine to speak to business leaders and President Poroshenko about improving rights for LGBT people. One of the things I asked was to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace,” the 68-year-old wrote. “Yesterday the Ukrainian Parliament passed a law supporting this!!”

According to Buzzfeed, Yuri Lutsenko, leader of a junior party in the governing coalition, had urged Ukrainian lawmakers to vote for the bill, saying, “it’s better to have a gay parade on [Kiev’s central street] Khreschatyk, than Russian tanks in the center of the Ukrainian capital.”

He added: “I believe that if we’re going to Europe, we should recognize the accepted rules in the European community”.

Meanwhile, Sir Elton recently revealed that he’ll soon be travelling to Moscow to promote LGBT equality after finally speaking to Russian president Vladimir Putin – click here to find out more.

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