Porn decriminalization petition in Ukraine reaches 25,000 signatures, forcing Zelensky response
Ukrainian President Zelensky must consider a petition to decriminalize pornography after it reached the required 25,000 signatures, according to data on the official Ukrainian government petitions website.
Pornography production and distribution are illegal in Ukraine, with broad interpretations meaning even sharing nude photos can result in jail time.
Despite being illegal, models on subscription-based site OnlyFans, known for being an adult content platform, must declare their income and pay taxes, as required for all paid content creators.
The decriminalization petition was created by Ukrainian OnlyFans model Svetlana Dvornikova, who argued that "law enforcement should focus on real crimes instead of conducting operations to buy intimate photos."
"Over five years, I've paid more than Hr 40 million ($958,062) in taxes to the state," Dvornikova wrote in the petition.
"But instead of gratitude for this money, the state opened a criminal case against me."
In January 2025, Ukraine's OnlyFans content creators declared more than $7 million in income, paying $1.5 million in personal income and military taxes, though it's unclear what specific content these users create on the platform.
Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, who has initiated bills to legalize pornography, calculated that from 2020 to 2022, 5,000 Ukrainians earned $123 million on OnlyFans.
"Porn today is mostly online platforms, and those who earn on these platforms officially pay taxes. That's millions of dollars going to the armed forces," Zhelezniak said on his YouTube channel.
The latest bill to legalize pornography was registered in November 2024 and supported by parliament's law enforcement committee in December, but hasn't been brought to a vote yet.
The bill proposes decriminalizing only the creation and storage of pornographic content by consenting adults.
Criminal liability would still apply for revenge porn, deepfake porn, extreme porn, child pornography, and distribution to minors.
"We're simply changing Article 301 of the Criminal Code so that adults who film and distribute intimate videos aren't thrown in prison for 3-5 years," Zhelezniak wrote on his Telegram channel.
"Currently, under Article 301, you can be punished even for storing nude photos on your personal phone."
In July 2022, a similar petition to legalize pornography reached the required number of signatures. It didn't lead to changes, and Zelensky responded by citing existing laws about "protecting public morality."
Dominic Culverwell
