Some LGBTQ Ukrainians fear human rights abuses if Russia invades: "We will fight"

Kyiv, Ukraine – Some LGBTQ people in Ukraine are fearing targeted human rights abuses if Russia invades and occupies the country.

"That would mean a direct threat to me and especially, well, to me and to the person I love," Iulia, an 18-year-old law student, told CBS News. She is training to be a lawyer in Kharkiv, an eastern city that could be a primary target for Russia if it launches a wider invasion of the country. She wants to use her degree to fight for LGBTQ rights in Ukraine.

"In Russia, LGBTQ people are persecuted," she said. "If we imagine that Russia occupies all of the Ukraine or just a big part of the country, they won't allow us to exist peacefully and to fight for our rights as we are able to do that in Ukraine right now."