'Stand with Ukraine' mural repainted after being vandalized with pro-Russia graffiti in Metro Vancouver
CTV
A Metro Vancouver mural showing support for Ukraine that was recently defaced was repainted by the artist this week.
A Metro Vancouver mural showing support for Ukraine that was recently defaced was repainted by the artist this week.
Jordan Malcolm revisited the mural Tuesday night to give it a fresh coat of paint after someone spray painted "down with Ukraine's Nazis" on it late Friday night or early Saturday morning. A symbol used by Nazis in the Second World War was also painted on the mural.
"It's extremely hurtful to the people in the neighbourhood who are Ukrainian and who are Jewish descent and so I'm going to continue creating art in support of Ukraine," Malcolm told CTV News Vancouver.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has justified Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "special military operation" meant to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish and the country's government does not espouse neo-Nazi ideology. Putin's claims may be a reference to the far-right Azov Battalion, a national guard formation aligned with Ukraine that does hold neo-Nazi views.
Malcolm said his work was so badly defaced he decided to create something entirely new.
Once finished, the mural will have the words "stop war" over the Ukrainian flag. Malcolm said the City of Burnaby donated supplies and he asked other local artists to help fill the walkway on Wilson Avenue near Kingsway with art to support Ukraine.
