Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski gestures while addressing the press with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, after their meeting at Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome, on October 10, 2024. Photo source: Andreas Solaro / AFP / Profimedia
President Volodimir Zelenski will have to analyze a petition to legalize pornography in Ukraine, after it has reached the required number of 25,000 signatures, according to data on the official website of the petitions addressed to the Ukrainian government.
The production and distribution of pornographic materials are illegal in Ukraine, the large interpretations indicating that even the distribution of nude photographs represent a liable deed of imprisonment, notes The Kyiv Independent.
Despite the fact that the law is increasing pornography, models that work for the site with Onlyfans subscription, a well-known adult content platform, must declare their income and pay taxes, as required by all creators of paid content.
The petition for decriminalization was launched by the Ukrainian model Svetlana Dvornikova, on the Onlyfans platform, which claimed that “the law enforcement authorities should focus on real crimes, instead of carrying out purchas of intimate photographs” by which the persons violating the law are caught.
“In five years, I paid the state over 40 million hives ($ 958,062, no) in taxes,” wrote Svetlana Dvornikova, in petition.
“But instead of being grateful for this money, the state opened a criminal case against me,” she added.
In January 2025, Ukraine content creators in Ukraine declared revenues of over $ 7 million, paying $ 1.5 million in income taxes and military taxes, although it is not clear what specific content create these users on the platform.
Ukrainian deputy Yaroslav Zhelezniak, who initiated laws for the legalization of pornography, calculated that, between 2020 and 2022, about 5,000 Ukrainians won 123 million dollars on Onlyfans.
“Currently, pornography is mainly on online platforms, and those who make money on these platforms officially pay taxes. They are millions of dollars that reach the armed forces,” Zhelezniak said on his YouTube channel.
The latest draft law for the legalization of pornography was registered in November 2024 and was supported by the Parliamentary Commission for the application of the law in December, but has not yet been subject to vote.
The bill proposes the decriminalization of pornography only in terms of creating and storing pornographic content by adults who consent this.
Criminal liability would remain in force for the so-called “Revenge Porn”, Deepfake pornography, extreme pornography, child pornography and distribution to minors, according to the legislative project.
“We simply change Article 301 of the Criminal Code, so that adults who film and distribute intimate videos no longer be sentenced to 3-5 years in prison,” Zheleznak wrote, in a message published on his Telegram channel.
“Currently, in accordance with Article 301, you can be punished even for storing nude photos on your personal phone,” he said.
In July 2022, a similar petition for the legalization of pornography reached the required number of signatures. It did not lead to changes, and Zelenski responded by invoking the existing laws on “protecting public morality”.
