Verkhovna Rada refuses to decriminalize pornography
Despite the failure, parliamentarians intend to return to the bill next week.
On May 28, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada failed to pass a bill on decriminalizing pornography. It was supported by 207 deputies with the required 226 votes. This was reported by the bill's author Yaroslav Zhelezniak.
The deputy was outraged by his colleagues' decision and compared such a position of the majority to "methods of medieval inquisition." In his opinion, in a democratic country, people cannot be imprisoned for sending nude photos.
The initiative proposed removing Article 301 from the Criminal Code, which provides for up to seven years in prison for creating and distributing explicit videos and photos.
Chairman of the Finance Committee Daniil Getmantsev promised that the Rada would return to the bill in the next session, since supporters of the project do not intend to stop in their "fight against corruption and hypocrisy."
As the UOJ reported, the Rada proposed to decriminalize pornography. The initiative sparked debates about the boundaries of moral regulation and the role of criminal law in protecting morality.
