Ukraine | Good News For Humankind

Two women holding a young child outdoors for an article about same-sex parental rights

Ukrainian court recognizes same-sex couple as a family for the first time

By Peter Schulte / July 3, 2025 / Good News For Humankind

Same-sex family recognition reached a historic milestone in Ukraine as a Kyiv court ruled that a same-sex couple constitutes a legal family — the first such ruling in Ukrainian history. The case was brought by a serving soldier and his partner of over ten years, highlighting urgent legal gaps that leave LGBTQ+ service members’ partners without medical, property, or benefits protections during wartime. The ruling stops short of marriage equality but establishes family recognition as a viable legal path. Human rights advocates say it adds meaningful momentum to parliamentary discussions on civil partnerships already supported by President Zelenskyy.

Ukraine passes bill banning LGBTQ+ hate speech in media

By Peter Schulte / December 21, 2022 / Good news links

The bill bans hate speech and incitement based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Ukraine and Moldova join European power grid, ending their dependence on Russia

By Peter Schulte / March 17, 2022 / Good news links

ENTSO-E, whose 39 members operate the world’s largest interconnected electrical grid, said the move means they will be able to help maintain the stability of the nations’ power systems.

Ukraine flag, for article on Ukrainian independence

Ukraine declares independence as the Soviet Union dissolves

By Peter Schulte / January 1, 1991 / Archive of Human Genius

Ukrainian independence arrived on August 24, 1991, when parliament in Kyiv voted to leave the Soviet Union just one day after a failed coup weakened Moscow. Months later, more than 90 percent of voters confirmed the choice, with majorities in every region. It was a quiet ending to an empire, and a long-awaited return for a nation with ancient roots.

Soviet Russia becomes the first modern state to legalize abortion

By Peter Schulte / October 1, 1920 / Archive of Human Genius

Soviet Russia legalized abortion in October 1920, becoming the first modern government to permit the procedure without restriction, and often for free. The decree aimed to move women away from underground providers and into hospitals — by 1925, roughly three-quarters of abortions in Moscow were performed in medical facilities. It was an early, imperfect test of treating reproductive health as medicine rather than crime.

Hunnic Empire map 450 A.D., for article on Hunnic Empire

The Hunnic Empire consolidates power across Eastern Europe

By Peter Schulte / January 1, 0434 / Archive of Human Genius

The Huns reshaped Eurasia in 434 C.E., when Attila and his brother Bleda took joint rule of a confederation that had crossed the Volga only six decades earlier. From the Danube, they extracted tribute from Rome and pushed Goths, Vandals, and Alans westward. Their pressure helped clear the ground on which medieval Europe would later rise.

Map of ancient Chalcolithic cultures of Southeastern Europe, for article on Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

Cucuteni–Trypillia culture builds some of the largest cities in the ancient world

By Peter Schulte / January 14, 0001 / Archive of Human Genius

The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture flourished across Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania from roughly 5050 to 2950 B.C.E., building settlements that held tens of thousands of people millennia before the pyramids. Every 60 to 80 years, residents burned their villages to the ground and rebuilt atop the ashes — a ritual whose meaning still eludes us.

Bull roarers, for article on bullroarer invention

Humans invent the bullroarer, perhaps in modern-day Ukraine

By Peter Schulte / January 6, 0001 / Archive of Human Genius

The bullroarer, a thin slat of wood spun on a cord, may be the oldest known human-made sound instrument, with finds in present-day Ukraine dating to roughly 18,000 B.C.E. Cultures separated by oceans — Aboriginal Australian, Māori, Dogon, Ancient Greek, Amazonian — independently arrived at the same device, a quiet clue that certain human impulses run remarkably deep.