Banksy, an elusive British street artist, has painted a mural on a bombed-out building outside the Ukrainian capital, in what Ukrainians describe as an indomitable symbol of their country.
The world-famous graffiti artist posted, Friday evening, three photos of the artwork on Instagram – a gymnast performing standing on hands amid the rubble of a demolished building in the town of Borodinka, northwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
It was written in the caption “Borodyanka, Ukraine”.
Together with cities like Bucha and Irbin, Borodinka was hard hit by Russian bombing and became a symbol of the devastation it wrought. Moscow attack Since February.
Russian forces briefly occupied the town before withdrawing in April.
“It’s a symbol that we don’t break,” Oleksiy Savochka, 32, told AFP on Saturday, referring to the graffiti. “And our country is unbreakable.”
A number of murals – Banksy style – appeared in and around Kyiv, leading Ukrainians to believe that the unknown street artist might be working in the war-torn country.
Other graffiti in Borodinka – whose origin the artist has not confirmed – show a small child throwing a man in judo uniform to the ground.
Genia Savelov/AFP via Getty Images
The scene may be a possible reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is a fan of martial arts.
“It’s a little boy against an old man and he has been defeated, he has already been defeated,” Bogdan Machai, a 30-year-old Ukrainian TV journalist, told AFP near the artwork.
“It is unbelievable that Banksy is here in Borodinka,” he added.
On the side of a destroyed building in Irvine, a third mural – also not confirmed by Banksy – shows a gymnast performing a bar routine despite apparently being injured and wearing a neck collar.
Genia Savelov/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday Kherson “Our country” after Russia withdrew its forces from the strategic southern city.
Kherson was the first major urban center to fall after Putin ordered Russian forces into Ukraine on February 24.
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