Ukraine has unveiled a new postage stamp featuring a mural by Banksy to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
The British street artist painted the original mural on a demolished wall in Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv.
It shows a young boy throwing an older man in a judo fight. Russian President Vladimir Putin is known to be a black belt in martial arts, and the man is believed to represent him. He was stripped of his title as honorary president of the International Judo Federation early last year.
(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The phrase “FCK PTN” is written in Cyrillic on the lower left part of the stamp. The Guardian reports that Kyiv residents flocked to buy the new stamps when they were released last week.
The Guardian spoke to Svetlana, who said she wanted to buy one “because I support the Ukrainian armed forces” and “the stamp is printed at a historic moment”. Maxime, another person buying the stamp, said: “It’s a very cool gesture for the world to understand Ukraine that we remain in the spotlight.”
The mural is one of seven works Banksy painted in Ukraine late last year. After some people tried to steal them soon afterwards, Ukrainian authorities installed protective glass around some of the works.
