Sex toys in exchange for support for prosthetics. This is how a Ukrainian porn actor helps soldiers with amputations.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian men have lost arms and legs in the war. The state does not cover the costs of all prostheses. But some have received help from unexpected quarters.

Ukrainian porn actress Josephine Jackson has 218 million video views on the world’s largest porn site, Pornhub. Now her followers on Instagram get to see a completely different side of the actress.

Between near-nude photos, she posts appeals to raise money for Ukrainian soldiers.

Josephine Jackson, whose real name is Julia Senjuk, comes from western Ukraine. She has continued to live in Lviv, but travels abroad to work. It is illegal to make porn in Ukraine.

Humble porn actor

While Josephine Jackson appears outgoing in the porn films, Julia Senjuk appears modest in private.

– This is a great honor for me. I did not expect that I could deserve such things, she says in a YouTube video about entering into an agreement to support the soldiers.

The project will assist soldiers who have lost arms or legs to get prostheses at a clinic in Kyiv. So far they have performed operations on 32 soldiers.

Julia Senjuk’s goal is to draw attention to the work of this clinic. The surgery, the advanced biomechanical prostheses and the rehabilitation can cost over 100,000 euros, or just under NOK 1.2 million, per person. person. The center does not have enough resources to carry out all the operations.

Imagine Tønsberg full of amputees

From February 2022 to November 2023, over 50,000 people lost one or more body parts due to the war, according to data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health. This corresponds to the population of Tønsberg.

Over the past year, the need for prostheses has increased by 15 percent among civilians and five times among military personnel.

Ukraine allocated NOK 1.23 billion for rehabilitation and prostheses. But these funds do not cover all needs.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance has not allocated money for such advanced prostheses for the past three months.

The state covers about half of the costs of such prostheses, claims the founder of the clinic in Kyiv, Vyacheslav Zaporozhets, to Aftenposten.

– They don’t need pity

Senjuk has visited soldiers a few times during rehabilitation in the pool and during training.

– She comes up to the boys, talks to them, and that inspires them. Afterwards, she organizes fundraising campaigns, and she does it with all her heart, says Zaporozhets.

In March, the soldiers replaced their uniforms and hospital clothes with tuxedos. The clinic organized a photoshoot together with Senjuk at the Kyiv National Opera. The photos will be used to create a calendar. The proceeds from the sale will go to finance prostheses.

– Why theater and suits? This gives them more confidence and a sense of independence. The phase of pity is long over, and now we must give them the will to live. We can do that by involving them in such events, writes Senjuk on Instagram.

Has collected 27.4 billion

During the first 15 months of the invasion, Ukrainians donated NOK 27.4 billion to support the country’s defense, according to data from Nv.ua. Fundraising often takes creative forms.

– Every day we see tens of fundraising campaigns to equip and arm the military. But in our rage against the enemy, we sometimes forget those who have literally given a part of themselves for our peace.

This is how Senjuk begins a video to raise money for prosthetics. The fundraiser is in the form of a lottery. Every person who donated at least NOK 55 gets the chance to win a prize – sex toys from a sex shop that is a partner in the initiative.

A few days ago, they had already collected NOK 275,000. 60 Ukrainians who participated have received sex toys. And with that, a soldier who has lost a body part gets a prosthesis.

Such support gives the soldiers strength to carry on.

– It’s an incredible feeling to be there when our heroes take their first steps on new prostheses, https://twitter.com/vlad_beseda/status/1761360805008691590 Vlad Beseda on X.

He lost an arm on the first day of the Great Invasion. Now he is being treated by the clinic in Kyiv and is helping to raise money. From then on, when it is difficult, he quotes a poem poemThere is no official translation. The text was translated by ChatGPT and edited by Aftenposten’s correspondent. by Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko:

“And everything in life must be endured.

Every finish line is, basically, a start.

There is no need to guess what you will have to endure.

Weep not for what is over.”