A six-month review of convictions under the Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

Despite the fact that Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine rejected the latest version of Bill No. 12191 on the decriminalisation of pornography – this version was prepared by the joint efforts of human rights organisations, our community in particular and MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Ярослав Железняк) – our fight continues... Because for now every few days absurd sentences continue to be passed on adults for voluntary creation and distribution of intimate content in our country.

The sex workers’ community is launching a new regular column, in which we will analyse the workings of the judicial and law enforcement systems. Thanks to data from the 301 Monitor channel (a project of the BRDO Office for Effective Regulation), we have compiled an analysis of verdicts for the first half of 2026 (from 1 January to 27 June 2026). These statistics are the best evidence of why the full decriminalisation of consensual porn is necessary right now.

The law enforcement system continues to waste millions of hryvnias of taxpayers’ money, cyberpolice resources and experts’ time on catching ordinary citizens for ‘crimes against public morality’, whilst real rapists, blackmailers and corrupt officials go unpunished.

Real criminals versus "moral sacrifices": Who is really on trial?

An analysis of court rulings for the first six months of 2026 clearly demonstrates two completely different categories of cases, which law enforcement agencies artificially combine under the umbrella of Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

1. Actual criminal offences (where Article 301 is a secondary charge). We, as a movement for decriminalisation, have always emphasised that penalties for child pornography, sexual violence, the distribution of content without consent (intimate blackmail) and the exploitation of minors must be severe. In many of the verdicts handed down this half-year, Article 301 has been applied alongside horrific crimes:

• In Odesa, an unemployed man was sentenced to life imprisonment for serial sexual assault and blackmailing underage girls via social media.
• In the Sumy region (Shostka) (Сумщина, Шостка), a mother was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment for sexually abusing her own daughter and producing child pornography.
• In the Ternopil region (Тернопільщина), a local deputy received a sentence of over eight years for lewd acts and sending pornography to a minor.
• In Ivano-Frankivsk (Івано-Франківськ), a dispatcher was sentenced for coercing a minor into sex, accompanied by blackmail and the distribution of a video.

In these cases, law enforcement officers were protecting people’s rights. But such cases are in the minority.

2. Absurd prosecution for consensual adult content. The lion’s share of the cyberpolice’s resources is spent on ‘test purchases’ and hunting down adults who sell their own photos or videos, or send them via private messages to other adults by mutual consent. Here are a few highlights from this half-year:

• OnlyFans and webcam streaming banned: In June 2026, a woman from Mariupol (Маріуполь) received a 5-year prison sentence (with probation) for organizing the filming of content for the OnlyFans platform, where users voluntarily paid for access. In other words, the state considers an industry that is legal worldwide and generates millions in tax revenue to be a ‘dangerous crime’.
• Hunting for pennies on Telegram: A woman from Vinnytsia (Вінниця) received a two-year suspended sentence for selling three photos and five videos on Telegram worth… 5,600 UAH! A woman from Zaporizhzhia (Запоріжжя) was sentenced for selling three videos worth 1,472 UAH! A woman from Kryvyi Rih (Кривий Ріг) was convicted for selling a video file for 800 UAH! And another woman from the Dnipropetrovsk region (Дніпропетровщина) was convicted for selling a video showing naked body parts for 200 hryvnias! A woman from Odesa (Одеса) was sentenced for selling a video via Telegram for 759 UAH, whilst a resident of the village of Zoria (селище Зоря) was fined 34,000 UAH! for selling two video files via Telegram worth 540 UAH! Law enforcement officers spend months documenting cases, the budget for which is less than the cost of fuel for the operational group’s trip.
• Intimate messages and privacy: A man from Ternopil (Тернопіль) received a 3-year prison sentence (replaced by a fine and a ban on activity) for sending photos of his own genitals to women on the Internet. A woman from the village of Kolodiyivka (село Колодіївка) was fined 34,000 UAH for uploading a video to Facebook that was viewed by just three people! A man from Romny (Ромни) posted 13 intimate photos on a dating site — he was given a three-year suspended sentence.

The Economics of Absurdity: How Much Does ‘Public Morality’ Cost?

The most shocking part of every sentence under Art. 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is the so-called “procedural costs for conducting examinations”. The state engages qualified art historians and experts who spend hours looking at genitals or erotic videos in order to officially classify them as ‘pornography’. The money for this is collected from the accused, and if they don’t have the money, it goes to the budget.

Let’s look at the figures for just half a year:

• A dental assistant from Sumy (Суми) posted a photo on a dating site: in addition to a fine, he was charged 21,963 UAH for expert assessments.
• A soldier from the Vinnytsia region (Вінниччина) sent a video to a neighbour out of jealousy: a fine of 34,000 UAH, and costs of the examination - 22,285 UAH!
• A pensioner from Vorozhba (Ворожба) posted five pornographic photos on his social media page: he was given a one-year probation order and ordered to pay 14,842 UAH for the forensic examination.
• A resident of Ternopil (Тернопіль) with mild intellectual disability sent 3 photos to his friend on Viber — the court imposed a probation order and ordered him to pay over 14,000 UAH for the expert assessment.
• A woman from Zboriv (Зборів) received a three-year suspended sentence and owes the state 8,914 UAH for the forensic examination, whilst a woman from Odesa (Одеса), for selling a video for 800 UAH, is forced to pay 7,131 UAH in court costs.

This money could have been used to fund investigations into real cybercrimes — phishing, financial fraud or hostile hacking attacks. Instead, the state is paying for the work of ‘nude body experts’.

Discrimination against vulnerable groups

It is most often the most vulnerable groups of the population who find themselves in the crosshairs of the law enforcement agencies: unemployed women, single mothers and students. The judgements explicitly state: ‘…taking into account her difficult life circumstances and the fact that she is supporting two young children’ (the case of a woman from Zaporizhzhia) or ‘is raising a minor child and has no previous convictions’ (the case of a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk). Instead of providing social support in difficult times, the state brands these women as criminals and confiscates their means of earning a living — mobile phones and computers.

It is particularly painful to see military personnel on the lists of those convicted (sentences handed down in Znam’yanka, Dobrovelychkivka, Berehove and Lutsk) (Знам’янка, Добровеличківка, Берегове, Луцьк). People who defend the country are receiving prison sentences or huge fines for sending intimate photos via Telegram or Viber.

Why do we continue the fight?

The failure of Bill 12191 in the Verkhovna Rada is not the end. It is an indication of conservatism and politicians’ unwillingness to face the truth. Whilst MPs play at being ‘defenders of morality’, the law enforcement system has turned Article 301 into a convenient tool for improving crime detection statistics. It is far easier to catch a girl on a webcam or a guy from a dating site than to investigate complex corruption or violent cases.

Our position remains unchanged: Ukraine must immediately decriminalise pornography involving consenting adults. The Criminal Code should only punish the following:

1. Child pornography (Article 301-1).
2. Pornography without consent and sexual blackmail.
3. The distribution of pornographic content to children.

Everything else concerns citizens’ private lives, their right to control their own bodies, their right to privacy and their freedom to engage in economic activity. These are fundamental freedoms that we will defend to the very end!

This material was made possible thanks to the daily hard work of human rights activist and analysts. Thank you for your support and analysis:

• To the development team at 301 Monitor and the BRDO Office for Effective Regulation for creating a vital automated tool for tracking court rulings. Your bot makes the law enforcement and judicial systems transparent, highlighting the real state of affairs regarding so-called ‘crimes against morality’.
• The @OpenDataUABot team for ensuring stable and open access to data from the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
• To our partners and all non-governmental organisations who, together with us, advocated for Bill No. 12191, were not afraid to raise the issue of the decriminalisation of adult content, and continue to fight systematically for human rights in Ukraine, despite any political setbacks within the Verkhovna Rada.

We will continue to highlight the absurdity of these verdicts, expose the true nature of this repressive machine, and demand reforms. Keep an eye on updates in this section.

Every voice in support of reform and every story told brings us closer to a society where human rights are respected, and privacy is not punished. Share this article, spread the word about the reality of the situation, and join our collective fight for decriminalisation — together we are stronger!

Text by the team of the CO “Legalife-Ukraine”