Ukrainian porn star raises funds for war amputees

KYIV — Yulia Senyuk is more famous under her stage name Josephine Jackson — where her porn appearances have garnered over 200 million views — and now she’s using that celebrity status to raise funds for Ukrainian soldiers who lost limbs in the war against Russia.

“Porn actress rehabilitates the military. Wow!” Senyuk told POLITICO. “We wanted to draw attention to the problem of rehabilitation after injuries. Because a lot of people collect for drones, but forget about prosthetics. I think I managed to attract attention because more people started collecting donations for prosthetics.”

The 29-year-old resident of Lviv in western Ukraine became an ambassador for Tytanovi Rehab, a media initiative of a Kyiv clinic involved in the rehabilitation of more than 30 Ukrainian military amputees.

Senyuk took part in two photo shoots with Ukrainian war amputees, aimed at drawing attention to the lack of financing for prosthetics — a key need for thousands of Ukrainians who have lost limbs in the Russian invasion.

Kyiv intentionally does not disclose how many people need prosthetics, Oksana Zholnovych, the social policy minister, told Ukrainian media. However, she insisted the government is able to cover those needs.

This year, more than 4.5 billion hryvnia (€111 million) have been allocated for rehabilitation aid, and there is no need to collect money for those who need prosthetics, said Olena Kulchytska, an adviser to Zholnovych.

However, according to the Protez Foundation, around 59,000 Ukrainians need prosthetic limbs. They can cost $46,000 to $90,000 each, according to Ukraine’s Superhumans Rehabilitation Center. Dozens of Ukrainian clinics and different initiatives are involved in the rehabilitation of military and civilian amputees. Most rely on government programs and donations, but there isn’t enough money to go around.

So when in February Senyuk’s friend came up with the idea of using her notoriety to create a buzz for the prosthetic center in Kyiv, she agreed.

She was invited to swim in a pool and took part in a flirty (but fully clothed) photoshoot with the veterans.

“At first I did not know how to talk to them. But then I just decided to act normal and not focus unnecessary attention on their lost limbs. I just came, we took pictures, and they asked me to make tiktoks with them,” Senyuk said.

The soldiers were thrilled.

“I am in no way a professional rehab specialist, I just come and talk to them, distract them, tell anecdotes about my profession, that is so interesting to them,” Senyuk said. “They shine after my visits, as I was told.”

Her stunt drew both attention and criticism.

Senyuk was attacked on social media by conservatives for the “immorality of her profession” and “trying to PR on soldiers” as well as the “objectification of a woman’s role” at war; it’s illegal to make pornography in Ukraine, which is why Senyuk works abroad.

Anton Ivantsiv, who lost both hands and a leg in the battle for Bakhmut, took part in the photo shoot and defended the actress.

“Thanks to her media persona, Yulia helped to draw attention to the problems of seriously injured people. She organized a donation campaign. Unfortunately, state programs cannot provide good prosthetics,” Ivantsiv told POLITICO. “As for the content she produces, I don’t care. It’s a media product, you can choose whether to consume it. Yulia is Ukrainian and a patriot of her country.”