Masked Men Smoke-Bomb Ukraine Gay Event

A group of masked men Saturday tossed several smoke bombs into a meeting hall in Odessa, Ukraine, where LGBT activists were about to hold a forum on the state of the movement.

No one was injured, and the assailants fled, Odessa Pride spokesman Kyrylo Bodelan told Agence France-Presse.

A Pride march had been scheduled for today, but a local court Thursday ruled that it could not take place, citing the potential for violence. Antigay attackers had disrupted a Pride parade in Ukraine's capital city of Kiev in June, leaving about a dozen people injured.

Far-right activists in Odessa were strongly opposed to the planned march. "We won''t beat the gays, but this march will not take place," local Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) leader Sergui Sternenko told the Interfax news agency.

Despite the ban, a few LGBT activists demonstrated near Odessa's City Hall, AFP reports. A woman tried to take a sign away from one demonstrator, but police intervened before the confrontation could escalate, the news service notes.