Banksy Mural Saved By Ukrainian Police In The Nick Of Time
In November, Banksy revealed a series of seven murals around Ukraine that represented the plight of its people as they coped with the war.
One of the artworks is of woman with curlers in her hair, dressed in a nightgown and wearing a gas mask. She is also gripping a fire extinguisher. The image depicts the disruption of a peaceful life the Ukrainians now have to grapple with.
Of course, anything associated with Banksy holds great value, leading a gang of eight thieves to attempt to steal the portrait. Luckily, before they could get away with it, the Kyiv police arrived just in time to apprehend the suspects.
According to Euronews, Kyiv’s police chief, Andriy Nebytov, stated that the culprits ranged between 27 and 60.
Unfortunately, the vandals had managed to cut the work from its original spot on a building that the Russians had severely damaged. So while officials have secured the painting, there is now a large gap where it once resided.
As a result, the remaining six stenciled pieces have now been put under police protection.
In a similar case earlier this year, a group of eight people was caught stealing a Banksy mural on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris, which was a tribute to a terrorist attack in 2015. The work was found in a farmhouse in Italy a year after being stolen in 2019.
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[via Artnet News and Euronews, cover image via Banksy]
