Legalise porn, fund 30,000 drones: Inside Ukraine’s unusual war plan

While the offence is illegal, Ukraine has still been unable to curtail a vast porn industry, which officials say operates with the protection of corrupt police

Unlike many European countries, Ukraine criminalises the production and distribution of pornography. However, as its war with Russia continues to put pressure on the country, which requires an estimated $120 billion a year for its defence needs, it is now considering legalising and taxing the pornography industry, a report by The Wall Street Journal said.

While the offence is illegal and carries up to seven years in prison, Ukraine has still been unable to curtail a vast and lucrative porn industry, which officials say operates with the protection of corrupt police.

In one recent example, the office of Ukraine's general prosecutor said in May that police departments in three separate regions had each been receiving over $20,000 a month in bribes.

Ukrainian authorities are demanding taxes from people who work in the porn industry. But anyone who complies is effectively confirming their involvement in criminal activity, the WSJ reported.

"These women either don't pay taxes and face criminal charges for that, or they pay taxes and get charged with violating pornography laws," said Yaroslav Zhelezniak, an opposition lawmaker who chairs the finance committee in Ukraine's Parliament. "It's a tragicomic situation."

Lawmaker pushes for legalisation

An opposition lawmaker who chairs the finance committee in Ukraine's Parliament, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, is pushing for the legalisation as he says it would not only help curtail corruption but would raise up to $25 million a year in tax revenues, the report added.

A bill co-authored by Zhelezniak is awaiting its second reading in Parliament after winning a first vote in July.

While it is not enough to survive the cost of a country fighting a war, Zhelezniak reportedly predicts the sum would be enough to pay for 30,000 drones.

Story of Svitlana Dvornikova

Svitlana Dvornikova is among the many women who operate in defiance of Ukraine's pornography laws. Donning makeup and high heels, the Ukrainian national travels abroad to stream solo shows to her one million subscribers on the adult online platform OnlyFans, according to WSJ.

Lesia Mykhalenko, a tax lawyer who has represented more than 100 OnlyFans models, called the crime "victimless", saying the restriction unnecessarily burdens the country's legal system at a time when it should be focused on defending the country.

"This is a victimless crime. It unnecessarily burdens the legal system at a time when we should be focused on defending the country," she was quoted as saying by WSJ.

War with Russia changed things

For years, Ukrainian authorities turned a blind eye to the shadowy industry. However, the war with Russia brought into the spotlight the secretly thriving industry.

Two years into the war, Ukraine's tax authorities obtained data from OnlyFans' UK-based parent company, Fenix International, detailing the earnings of thousands of Ukrainian users.

The data showed that 7,900 Ukrainians earned more than $131 million on the platform in 2023, leaving millions of dollars in taxes due to the government, according to WSJ.

Following the information reveal, OnlyFans models across Ukraine began receiving letters from the authorities, including many who were making in excess of $20,000 a month.

Dvornikova, who filed tax declarations, unaware that it could invite trouble for her, was accused of breaking the law by producing pornography for profit. Police seized a laptop, flash drives and the equivalent of $200,000 in cash from her home one morning. The $200,000 was set aside by her for paying taxes.

"They had a list of webcam models, and knew all their addresses," Dvornikova told WSJ in an interview. She said the officers told her she could give them half of the cash as a bribe and keep the rest. She declined the offer.

Another woman in her early 20s told the Journal that after police searched her apartment and charged her earlier this year, she went into hiding in another part of Ukraine. She said she was summoned to a court hearing by police, but decided not to go because she feared officials wanted to use the meeting to extract a bribe.

'Govt should appreciate…'

Former waitress Iryna Mosiychuk, who runs a company called Beezone, which advertises itself as a business consulting firm, has written to Ukrainian lawmakers and government ministries arguing that the $5,000 she pays in taxes each month could increase twentyfold if she were allowed to expand the business and stop trying to control what her women do behind closed doors.

"I don't want my country to ask other countries for support and weapons," she said. "If our industry was able to grow, I think we could help Ukraine manage all this on its own," she said, as reported by WSJ.

Describing herself as a "conscientious taxpayer", Dvornikova made the same case. Rather than treating her as a criminal, she said, the government should appreciate the 40 million hryvnias — around $900,000 — she had paid in taxes. She said that money could have bought 100 new pickup trucks for the army, 2,000 drones, or represented "hundreds of Russians killed on the front line."

Within a week, Dvornikova's petition had collected more than the 25,000 signatures required to prompt a response from President Zelensky. He said Parliament would consider legislation to legalise pornography.

Dvornikova's case has yet to reach court. She said she was told proceedings had been put on hold while Parliament considers the proposed law. The cash seized from her was subsequently returned.