Banksy, the British street artist, has painted a mural on a bombed-out building outside the Ukrainian capital, which Ukrainians have called a symbol of their country’s impossibility.
On Friday night, the world-renowned graffiti artist posted on Instagram three photos of the artwork – an artist working with a hand among the ruins of a demolished building in the city of Borodyanka to the west of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
The caption reads “Borodyanka, Ukraine.”
Along with towns like Bucha and Irpin, Borodyanka was hit hard by Russian bombs and became a symbol of the damage done by The attack of Moscow from February.
The city was occupied by Russian forces before they left in April.
“It’s an indestructible sign,” 32-year-old Oleksiy Savochka told AFP on Saturday, referring to the graffiti. “And our country is indestructible.”
A number of paintings – some of them Banksy – have appeared in and around Kyiv prompting Ukrainians to speculate that the anonymous street artist is working in the war-torn country.
Another graffiti in Borodyanka – whose origin is not confirmed by the artist – shows a small boy throwing a man wearing a judo uniform to the ground.
GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images
A possible reference point is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is a martial arts enthusiast.
“It’s a little boy to the old man, he’s fallen, he’s fallen,” Bogdan Mashay, a 30-year-old Ukrainian television reporter, told AFP near the scene.
“It’s unbelievable that Banksy is here in Borodyanka,” he added.
Next to a destroyed building in Irpin, a third image – not yet authorized by Banksy – shows a graffiti artist who appears to be injured and wearing a banner of the neck.
GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kherson “ours” after Russia withdrew troops from the capital to the south.
Kherson was the first city to fall after Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24.
