New book and documentary interview spotlight war’s toll on Ukraine’s LGBTQ+ community

More than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the impact of war has been felt across nearly all parts of Ukrainian society, including daily safety, community life, and personal stability for people who identify as LGBTQ+. In a PBS NewsHour interview published June 23, 2026, author and photojournalist J. Lester Feder discussed a new book, The Queer Face of War, which chronicles hardships faced by Ukraine’s LGBTQ+ community during the conflict.

Feder’s work, as described in the interview, focuses on lived experiences that do not always appear in standard war coverage. The program frames the book as a portrait of how the war has altered routine existence, access to support, and the ability to move through public life while facing a conflict that touches families, neighborhoods, and local institutions.

The interview with Amna Nawaz centers on Feder’s approach to storytelling through both writing and photography, using individual lives as a lens on broader wartime conditions. PBS NewsHour characterizes the book as documenting the “hardships” confronting LGBTQ+ Ukrainians, emphasizing that the strain of war is not distributed evenly.

Nawaz and Feder discuss the timing and scope of the record, with the program noting that the war’s duration has passed the four-year mark. That extended timeframe, PBS NewsHour says, has made the consequences of displacement, uncertainty, and social disruption persist long enough to reshape identity, relationships, and long-term planning for many people, including those in LGBTQ+ communities.

In the interview, Feder is presented as both the author and a photojournalist whose work aims to bring attention to realities that can be difficult to capture from a distance. The program positions The Queer Face of War as a systematic chronicle of these circumstances, rather than a general overview of the conflict.

PBS NewsHour’s June 23 broadcast places the discussion within the wider effort to document Ukraine’s wartime experiences beyond the front lines. While the interview does not enumerate specific incidents in its description, it underscores that LGBTQ+ Ukrainians face distinct challenges in addition to the general pressures of war, and that those challenges continue as the conflict enters its fifth year.

The book’s release and the associated interview highlight a continued emphasis in international media coverage on social impacts of the war. The PBS NewsHour segment is scheduled as part of the network’s ongoing reporting on developments in Ukraine and the experiences of Ukrainians affected by the conflict.