Thieves attempted to steal a mural painted by the world-famous street artist Banksy off the side of a building in Ukraine.
Many of Banksy’s paintings have sold for millions of dollars and are often worth more than the buildings they are painted on.
The mural that was targeted depicts a woman in a bathrobe and gas mask holding a fire extinguisher. It was painted by the artist on a damaged building in Hostomel.
Kyiv Regional Gov. Oleksii Kuleba announced the attempted theft in a post on Telegram.
According to a report from NBC News, Kuleba said the thieves “were detained at the scene,” and the image was “undamaged” and under the protection of law enforcement.
“These images are a symbol of our struggle against the enemy,” Kuleba added. “These are stories about the support and solidarity of the entire civilized world with Ukraine. Let’s do everything to preserve the works of street art as a symbol of our future victory.”
Banksy has done several murals all across Ukraine since the start of the conflict with Russia.
Banksy is based in England, but his identity has long been a secret.
“His work, normally sprayed on the sides of buildings, has been threatened by thieves before,” the NBC report continued. “In June, eight were convicted in Paris over the 2019 theft of a Banksy mural at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris which commemorated the victims of a 2015 terror attack at the venue.”
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