Ukrainian authorities arrest eight people for the theft of Banksy’s mural outside Kyiv | Banksy

Eight people have been arrested for stealing a mural painted by the elusive British street artist Banksy of a wall on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said.

The stenciled image of a person in a nightgown and gas mask holding a fire extinguisher, next to the charred remains of a window in the town of Hostomel, disappeared on Friday, they said.

“A group of people tried to steal a Banksy mural. They cut work from the wall of a house destroyed by the Russians,” Kyiv Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said in a message on Telegram.

He attached the picture to a hole in the wall where the picture had been standing.

The gap in the wall of the residential building after the mural has been taken. Photo: Valentin Ogirenko/Reuters

“Several people were arrested on the spot,” he said. “The image is in good condition and in the hands of the authorities.”

Other works in the area believed to also be the work of Banksy are under police protection, he said.

Kyiv Police Chief Andriy Nebytov said eight people had been identified as potentially involved and a preliminary investigation had been opened into the case.

“All were between 27 and 60 years old. They are residents of Kyiv and Cherkasy,” about 200 km (125 miles) southeast of the capital, he said.

Stencil image of a gymnast performing a headstand on the wall of a building
A Banksy stencil image of a gymnast performing a headstand on the wall of a destroyed building in Borodianka. Photograph: Andrew Kravchenko/AP

Last month, Banksy posted a stencil image of a gymnast doing a handstand on the wall of a destroyed building in Borodianka, northwest of the capital.

He then posted a video of several more of his works, including the figure in a gas mask holding the fire extinguisher.

Others included portraits of a bearded man rubbing himself in a bathtub and a young boy in karate gear slamming his adult opponent to the ground.

A woman takes a photo of another woman standing in front of a Banksy mural
An image of Banksy at Borodianka. Photograph: Andrew Kravchenko/AP

Along with towns like Bucha and Irpin, Borodianka and Hostomel were badly hit by Russian bombardment after the invasion of Ukraine in February.

Comments are closed.