"Gender-neutral" toilets in Ukraine cause outrage in Russia, where one in four have no access to sewage system

St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov has claimed after meeting with wounded Russian soldiers that they knew what they were fighting for after seeing toilets "for gender-neutral people" in Ukrainian schools.

Source: Beglov on Telegram; BBC News Russian

Quote from Beglov: "Those who went through the Ukrainianised version of Donbas with an assault rifle in their hands are well aware of what we are fighting for. These guys have seen toilets in schools where instead of two rooms for girls and boys, there are three rooms for girls, boys and gender-neutrals - they don’t need to be told what kind of values we stand for."

Details: BBC News Russian reported that Beglov's remarks have surprised both supporters and opponents of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Boris Vishnevsky, a lawmaker from St Petersburg, reminded people that "according to Rosstat, a quarter of Russians do not have centralised sewage systems and use cesspools and septic tanks".

The so-called protection of children from Western influence and the strengthening of "traditional values" have been repeatedly cited by Russian politicians and officials as justification for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

When Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts in September 2022, he devoted part of his speech to accusations against Western countries, where he claims "perversions are being imposed on" children. "Do we want to have 'parent number 1, number 2, number 3' instead of 'Mum' and 'Dad' here in our country, in Russia? Have they gone completely mad?" he said.

In December 2022, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained about gender-neutral toilets in Sweden: "I asked where the toilet was. I was shown a door marked with the letters WC. I asked: ‘Is this for ladies or gentlemen?’ I was told: ‘We have everything shared.’ I didn't believe it, but it was true. You can't imagine how inhuman it is; it's just not human."

Background: In April 2022, after the discovery of mass looting by the Russian military in the occupied territories of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian dream is "to steal a toilet and die".

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