The Artworks of Banksy in Ukraine

The world's most famous and enigmatic street-artist Banksy has created five artworks in Ukraine to denounce the war and to declare his solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

The city chosen by the street artist as the setting for his murales is Borodyanka, a Ukrainian city 50 km from Kiev and sad protagonist of numerous massacres and bombings since the beginning of the war in February 2022.

It is exactly on the ruins of buildings destroyed by the continuous bombing that Banksy decides to create his artworks.

The Banksy Artworks in Kiev.

At the moment, only one of these artworks has been officially claimed by the artist via a post on Instagram. The claimed artwork depicts a young woman doing a handstand on a pile of rubble.

There are four other murales not officially claimed by Banksy:

  • One artwork shows a man - identified by many as Putin - being knocked down by a child through a judo move;
  • Another depicts two children intent on playing on a swing;
  • A third artwork depicts a gymnast grappling with a ribbon during a performance;
  • The last artwork, not yet claimed, shows a woman in a robe and curlers attempting to put out a fire while wearing a gas mask.

Scenes of "normal" life within a context such as war that provoke and denounce power and war itself. These are recurring themes in the works of street-artist Banksy.

Banksy and the solidarity to the Ukrainian people

For artist Banksy, this is not the first act of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

In March of this year, Banksy decided to auction one of his iconic artworks titled CND Soldiers in order to finance the Ohmatdyt children's hospital in Kiev.

The artwork depicts two soldiers intent on painting in red the symbol of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which is the British organization that fights against the use of nuclear weapons. The organization's symbol has later been recognized and used universally as a symbol of peace.

The auction of Banksy's artwork made it possible for the artist to donate £81,000 to the Ukrainian hospital.