Banksy For Ukraine: New Murals of Solidarity

Using art as a political weapon has always been a core part of Banksy’s street art practice and activism. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to devastate lives, it was only a matter of time until new Banksy murals would begin to appear in support of the Ukrainian people.

This is not the first time Banksy has travelled to warzones to offer his support during tough times, as back in 2017 he erected the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem.

In addition to his series of murals in Ukraine, located from Kyiv to Borodyanka, Banksy has further expressed his solidarity with the country following Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion, by releasing a new artwork in print form and raising money for international charity, the Legacy of War Foundation. Read all about Banksy’s latest work for Ukraine here.

In November 2022, Banksy confirmed that he had created seven murals across war-damaged towns in the Kyiv region. Each work appeared quietly, painted onto the exposed walls of bombed-out residential buildings and public structures, and quickly drew local and international attention.

Gymnast on Rubble

Banksy first signalled his presence by sharing an image of this mural on Instagram: a gymnast holding a handstand on the remains of a collapsed apartment block in Borodyanka. The work became the emblem of his visit, its location and innocent subject standing out against the backdrop of a building torn open. The image has been widely read as a symbol of balance and resilience amid devastation: a figure poised amid chaos and destruction.

Boy Judo Flipping a Man

Also in Borodyanka, a mural shows a young boy throwing an adult man in a judo-style move. While Banksy has never identified the figures, the adult’s posture, judo uniform and black belt led many observers to note a strong resemblance to Vladimir Putin, who is publicly associated with the sport. Read in that light, the mural became an unmistakable image of reversal: a small figure overpowering a larger force.

The image quickly took on national significance, and Ukraine’s postal service later issued a commemorative stamp featuring the mural, transforming the street work into an official symbol circulated across the country during the war.

Children on a Tank Trap

Painted in Kyiv, two children are shown balancing on a metal tank trap as though it were a playground seesaw. The scene has been interpreted as a reminder of how conflict reshapes childhood, turning instruments of war into makeshift toys, and of how play persists even in landscapes defined by threat.

Woman with Gas Mask and Fire Extinguisher

On a damaged residential building in Hostomel, Banksy painted a woman standing on a chair, dressed in a housecoat and curlers, clutching a fire extinguisher and wearing a gas mask. Local authorities later confirmed an attempted theft of this mural, underscoring its immediate significance and the speed with which his works became sites of public concern. The figure has been seen as embodying the domestic front line, where the everyday civilian must face and inhabit a war-torn world.

Man in a Bath

In Horenka, a mural of a man taking a bath appeared on the exposed interior wall of a destroyed home. Viewers have noted the quiet strangeness of the image – a small gesture of normality set against the total collapse of the surrounding structure.

Missile on an Armoured Truck

Banksy also reworked an existing piece of graffiti, transforming a crude spray-painted symbol into the shape of a missile secured to the back of an armoured truck. By folding the original tag into a new composition, he turned an otherwise throwaway mark into one of the seven murals linked to his visit. The finished image has been widely read as a wry commentary on military posturing, showing how instruments of aggression can be repurposed, reframed, and undermined through art.

Rhythmic Gymnast with Ribbon

In Irpin, a gymnast is shown performing with a ribbon beside the remains of a bombed building. The contrast between the beauty of the gymnast’s movement and the brutality of the collapsed structure behind her has been read as an assertion of grace and discipline in the face of widespread destruction.

The most significant of Banksy's new murals is sprayed onto the wall of a missile-damaged kindergarten building. It depicts the final moments of a judo match with a young boy throwing an adult with a black belt to the ground. The depiction of the judo match may at first seem out of place, but this is actually a direct affront to the Russian leader by Banksy. Vladmir Putin, who has waged the illegal invasion of Ukraine, was stripped of his taekwondo black belt and honorary judo title by the International Judo Federation and European Judo Federation back in March 2022.

Riffing off the well-known story of David & Goliath, the young boy in the mural is likely meant to represent Ukraine defeating Putin’s Russia with defiant will. A powerful and moving image, Banksy has proved himself yet again as a street artist able to succinctly convey strong messages via potent symbolism and clever references.

Banksy's new video of the murals in Ukranine, published via Instagram, shows a mother and child describing their changed lives. They stand next to the new mural sprayed onto the child's, now destroyed, kindergarten school. It is also accompanied by a popular Ukranian folk song, 'Chervona Ruta', a song about a mythical flower that brings happiness and hope in love.

The theme of children is used again by Banksy in this new Ukrainian mural, highlighting that the horrors of the Russia-Ukraine war is affecting even children. It also underlines the emotional power of the image, pushing another juxtaposition, the image of the young boy overcoming the odds to defeat his adult opponent.

Banksy is a master of combining anachronistic visual elements, gripping the viewer’s attention and undermining commercial associations to drive his message home. And Banksy once again drives this home in the brand new mural located in Ukraine.

Banksy is no stranger to charitable pursuits, with his gift to the NHS during the covid-19 pandemic, Game Changer, raising an astounding £16.8 million for the University of Southampton hospital staff. Banksy has also been extremely active with donating and creating works that draw attention to refugee and conflict crises throughout the last decade - his powerful Girl with Balloon stencil is one that  immediately springs to mind, used to raise awareness for the #withsyria campaign in 2014.

These are the first of Banksy's public murals in over a year, though Banksy’s spirit of solidarity with Ukraine was highlighted back in March 2022 by MyArtBroker’s Banksy4Ukraine campaign that raised £81,000 for a children’s hospital in Ukraine. A generous client donated their CND Soldiers limited edition print to be sold via public auction to raise the funds, a particularly apt donation given its over anti-war messaging.

The Ukraine murals weren’t a one-off. Banksy has continued to press on questions of state power, law, and protest - most visibly with a new work on the Royal Courts of Justice in London on 8 September 2025. The stencil showed a judge raising a gavel over a prone protester clutching a blood-streaked placard, and was authenticated by the artist on Instagram. Court staff immediately covered the piece and removed it the next day.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed they were examining the episode as potential criminal damage, even as media framed the image as a pointed commentary on the relationship between protest and the law. Whatever the immediate target, the scene’s blunt choreography sits in a direct line from the Ukrainian works: a visual language of resistance, civilian vulnerability, and the thin line between authority and force.