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Ukrainian activist explains why he ‘stole’ Banksy near Kyiv [1]
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Date: 2023-01
A Ukrainian man who faces up to 12 years in jail for ‘stealing’ a Banksy mural has said he was saving it from destruction – and wanted to sell it to raise money for the Ukrainian army.
In an interview exclusively shared with openDemocracy by Ukrainian media outlet Graty, activist Serhiy Dovhiy has told of his plans to auction off a Banksy that he ripped from a wall near Kyiv.
In November, anonymous British artist Banksy confirmed he had painted seven murals in and around the Ukrainian capital.
One of these was an image of a woman in a gas mask, painted on the wall of a destroyed building in Hostomel, a town near Kyiv that Russian forces invaded during the spring.
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The following month, Ukrainian police announced that eight people had been detained over the attempted theft of the Hostomel mural.
Dovhiy, who is the only person to have since been charged for his role in its removal, has revealed that he planned to auction off the graffiti, and later release a film about it.
“I thought I’d apologise to Banksy in the film, explaining I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for the war,” the volunteer and local producer for the Associated Press recalls.
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[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukraine-banksy-stolen-serhiy-dovhiy-activist-army-auction/
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