Ukrainians sell porn on OnlyFans amid economic devastation from war

Make love, not war.

Scores of desperate Ukrainians are risking jail time by recording raunchy OnlyFans content as their country’s ongoing war with Russia wreaks economic devastation.

Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion last February, Ukraine’s unemployment rate has soared to 34%, while the rate of inflation has spiked at 26%, leaving millions of citizens struggling to buy basic supplies.

And while the filming of “pornographic motion pictures and video films” is punishable in Ukraine by up to five years in prison, OnlyFans sign-ups are surging across the country.

The adults-only subscription site has become a lifeline for many, including teenager Darina Lebedeva, who began making kinky content last year after she was axed from her retail job.

“The war took everyone by surprise,” the 19-year-old told the Daily Beast on Tuesday. “People did not know what to do.”

After her $3,000 in savings dried up, Lebedeva reluctantly turned to OnlyFans despite never having previously considered selling sexual content of herself.

“It seemed to me that it was terrible as if you were selling yourself like a girl in a brothel,” she admitted.

Lebedeva said she initially struggled to gain subscribers and was treated with disdain by those she told about her X-rated endeavors.

“It was really difficult. I had to constantly look for customers. I had no one to ask. And the customers were different, and their orders were sometimes such that I would have not done for any money. It was emotionally exhausting,” she stated.

However, as international interest in the war grew, so did online searches for Ukrainian porn.

Spain saw a 600% increase in searches for “Ukrainian porn,” while Poland saw searches for the same term soar 130%, the Daily Beast reports.

In November of last year, Lebedeva began to work with a management company to grow her subscriber base, and she now rakes in $4,500 per month in payments — a small fortune in Ukraine, where the median income hovers around $400 per month.

The teen says she takes up to 50 photos per day for her fans and usually records seven videos per week.

Despite the production of pornography being illegal under Article 301 of Ukraine’s criminal code, Lebedeva says she’s not worried about being handcuffed — at least by the police.

“It is illegal, but in practice, I have never seen cases where girls were sent to prison for working at this job,” she declared.

Indeed, some Ukrainian officials may even quietly condone the content creation, given that it’s been a boon to the country’s collapsing economy.

OnlyFans has generated around $620,000 in taxes for Ukraine, according to the Daily Beast, with that number set to rise as more citizens sign up to sell sexy pics and videos.

Meanwhile, queer content creators in Kyiv and other parts of the country have also joined OnlyFans.

“During the war, it’s hard to find a job where you can earn that kind of money,” one told the Daily Beast. “I had good looks, so I thought, ‘Why not?’”

“If I have it and other people love it, why not I can sell photos and videos of myself?” another asked, saying he wasn’t worried about breaking the law.

“I don’t care because life in Ukraine is like: You live today, and nobody knows what is happening tomorrow.’”