Eight people have been arrested after a Banksy mural in Ukraine symbolising the resistance against Russia ’s invasion was cut out from the side of a scorched building.
The artwork by the elusive British street artist showed a woman in a gas mask holding a fire extinguisher, painted on a wall in in Hostomel, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv.
It was first spotted in November, when much of the region had been pummelled by heavy shelling and airstrikes.
Days later, Banksy claimed the work as his own on Instagram and said he’d left up to seven works across Ukraine.
It was described as a “symbol of victory” for the embattled nation, but a group of people were stopped after cutting it from the wall, the governor of the Kyiv region said on Friday.
In a statement, Oleksiy Kuleba said the mural had been retrieved and was still intact, and that it was now under police protection.
“These images are, after all, symbols of our struggle against the enemy. We’ll do everything to preserve these works of street art as a symbol of our victory,” he said.
Andriy Nebytov, head of police for the Kyiv region, said the eight suspects were aged between 27 and 60 years old and are all residents of the Kyiv and Cherkasy.
“A preliminary investigation for property damage had been opened,” he added.
In November Banksy claimed responsibility for a piece in the town of Borodyanka, showing a female gymnast balancing on her hands atop a blown-up building.
The town, located northwest of Kyiv, was one of the hardest hit by Russia’s bombardment since the invasion began in February.
It was occupied by Russian forces for several weeks, before being liberated two months later.
Another piece of artwork claimed by the anonymous graffiti artist shows Russian President Vladimir Putin being flipped by a youngster in a judo contest, while another shows two children using a metal tank trap as a seesaw.
