Things could be getting spicier in Ukraine. A petition for legalizing porn has made its way to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s desk, and the Ukrainian president is actively reviewing it and considering making the production of pornography legal in his country. Currently, all forms of pornography are prohibited, regardless of whether or not the creation of the adult content was consensual, per the Ukrainian criminal code.

The petition was initially launched by Svitlana Dvornikova, an OnlyFans model who faces criminal charges under the existing law. Once the petition began circulating, it quickly met the constitutional threshold of required signatures in order to get it in front of the president’s eyes. In less than one week, Dvornikova’s petition gained 25,000 signatures, prompting President Zelensky to issue a formal response. He has acknowledged the petition and referred it to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. The Ukrainian parliament is also considering related legislation that was introduced in late 2024. If passed, Bill No. 12191 would reform Article 301 of the criminal code, decriminalizing adult pornography that is created consensually, while still retaining (and possibly strengthening) penalties for porn that is created without consent.

Legalizing adult content could be a smart economical move for Ukraine. Despite the law, the Eastern European country has a growing digital sex economy, and content creators like Dvornikova are contributing millions in taxes. The tax revenue that is generated by content creators shows a gap between what the law dictates and the realities of living in the current economy. In early 2023 alone, online creators generated nearly ₴34 million, despite the work that they did being a criminal offense.

Advocates for decriminalizing consensual adult content believe that decriminalization would lead to Ukraine being able to expand taxable income streams. They also argue that legalizing pornography would significantly improve legal protections for workers in the adult entertainment industry. Legally enforceable worker protections in the adult entertainment industry mean that law enforcement could more effectively target exploitative content creators.

Conservatives and religious groups in Ukraine have historically opposed pornography in all forms on moral grounds and have always pushed back against attempts to legalize pornography. In 2023, a similar bill that could have decriminalized pornography was proposed and then shelved when the intense backlash pressured lawmakers to avoid making a decision. Critics of Bill No. 12191 argue that making porn legal would undermine public morality, could increase the risk of human trafficking, and that it’s “unbecoming” during wartime or a national crisis to give the green light for the creation of explicit sexual content. Currently, Ukrainian lawmakers appear divided, with some lawmakers afraid to alienate traditional voters and some afraid of stoking political controversy in a time when the country is already feeling the effects of the ongoing conflict with Russia.

What happens next for porn in Ukraine is entirely up to the Rada. President Zelensky has no direct authority to change the law. However, if he signals that he would like for Bill No. 12191 to be a priority, debate could begin in the next legislative session. No official timeline has been announced, but many observers are hoping for clarity on when they can expect to hear an update in the late summer or early fall. On a broader level, Ukraine has been feeling the tension between progressive digital reform and holding fast to traditional societal norms. Whatever happens next, all eyes in Ukraine will be paying attention.