Russian LGBT activist Grey Violet, who also goes by the name Maria Shtern, appears to have disappeared along with a companion after traveling into territory held by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Friends say they have not been able to reach Grey Violet and Victoria Miroshnichenko since the two arrived in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) on Jan. 31 to put on and document a performance in support of LGBT people, according to a release from Human Rights Watch.