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Posted: 2023-02-25T13:02:46Z | Updated: 2023-02-25T15:23:39Z Ukraine Turns Banksy Street Art Into Postage Stamp Taunting Vladimir Putin | HuffPost

Ukraine Turns Banksy Street Art Into Postage Stamp Taunting Vladimir Putin

The official stamp contained a blistering message for the Russian president on the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
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A mural that anonymous British street artist Banksy painted on a bombed-out building in Ukraine has been transformed into a postage stamp taunting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s postal service released the stamp for sale Friday, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.

In the image, a young judoka slams a grown man, interpreted to represent Putin, to the ground. “FCK PTN” — i.e., “Fuck Putin” — appears in Cyrillic on the lower left of the stamp.

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Ukraine's postal service released a stamp with the Banksy artwork on the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

“We thought that this exact stamp, this exact painting would be the best representation of what every Ukrainian feels about our enemy,” said postal service head Ihor Smilianskyi, according to Reuters .

Just weeks after the invasion began last year, Ukraine’s postal service released a stamp commemorating a border guard’s defiant rallying cry of “Russian warship, go fuck yourself!”

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A Ukrainian border guard's defiant stand against a Russian warship was transformed into an official postage stamp last year.
Europa Press News via Getty Images

It’s unclear if Banksy authorized the use of his artwork on the new stamp.

Representatives for the artist did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

The mural that appears on the stamp is one of seven that Banksy painted in and around the capital, Kyiv, last year. He documented the trip via an Instagram video .

One of his paintings, depicting a woman in a gas mask, is under police protection after a group of people allegedly tried to steal it. Now, his other artworks in Ukraine are reportedly being monitored around the clock.

In December, Banksy said he’d created a limited-edition print to raise money for Legacy of War Foundation to support people caught up in the conflict. The artist also said he used one of the foundation’s ambulances to escape an “angry babushka ” who found him painting on her building.

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The mural that appears on the new stamp is one of seven that Banksy painted in and around Kyiv last year.
SERGEI SUPINSKY via Getty Images

After requesting that people register their interest in buying one of the just 50 prints, the charity received thousands of “hostile attacks” from internet users linked to Russian locations, it said . It is now processing the 1 million registrations.

Back in England, meanwhile, Banksy on Valentine’s Day confirmed he was behind a commentary on domestic violence in Margate. Authorities later removed moving parts of the installation over safety fears.

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Banksy's "Valentine's Day Mascara" installation in Margate, England.
Gareth Fuller - PA Images via Getty Images

See all of Banksy’s Ukraine art here:

Banksy in Ukraine
(01 of07)
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(credit:GENYA SAVILOV via Getty Images)
(02 of07)
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(credit:NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(03 of07)
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(credit:NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(04 of07)
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(credit:SOPA Images via Getty Images)
(05 of07)
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(credit:SOPA Images via Getty Images)
(06 of07)
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(credit:GENYA SAVILOV via Getty Images)
(07 of07)
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(credit:SOPA Images via Getty Images)

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