To mark the year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, Ukraine issued a postage stamp depicting a mural of British street artist Banksy About a boy defeating a grown man at judo. The phrase “Putin’s lost” in Cyrillic has been added to the bottom left of the stamp.
Banksy painted the mural on a destroyed wall in the town of Borodinka, northwest of Kiev, where Russian planes flattened many buildings at the start of the invasion last year. Borodinka has been badly damaged by Russian attacks.
The mural depicted on the stamp is part of a series of works by Banksy that will be exhibited in different parts of Ukraine in late 2022.
Banksy has traveled to crisis areas in different parts of the world and created works of art known to convey a social or political message.
Underdog Winner
The dazed man’s face is not depicted, but most likely refers to Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing a black belt in judo. Last year, World Taekwondo stripped Putin of his honorary black belt for condemning the war he is waging against Ukraine.
The mural can also be seen as a reference to the Biblical story of David and Goliath, symbolizing the unlikely victory of the underdog, in this case represented by a young opponent like Ukraine.
Local resident Natalya Hrepynyuk praised the stamp symbol: “I think the boy is a symbol of little Ukraine defeating the big man, Russia.” “He is very representative of the situation.”
Ukrainians praise the new character
“We thought that this delicate stamp, this delicate plaque would be the best representation of how every Ukrainian feels towards our enemy,” said the head of the Ukrainian postal service, Ihor Smilyansky, before the first stamp was stamped.
Enthusiastic residents lined up at Kiev’s main post office last Friday to buy the new stamp.
Svetlana, a 50-year-old economist, wanted to buy the stamp “because I support the Armed Forces of Ukraine” and “the stamp was printed at a historic moment”, one year after the start, on February 24, 2022, of the ‘Russian invasion.
Another enthusiastic buyer on its first release date was Maxime, who was delighted to see “a first stamp of one of Banksy’s works”.
“It’s a very nice gesture that the world understands Ukraine,” the 26-year-old told AFP, as it was important to “stay in the spotlight”.
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