Martial Art: The War Murals Of Kyiv
In the four years since the full-scale Russian invasion, scores of war-themed murals have appeared on buildings and walls throughout Kyiv. RFE/RL photojournalist Serhiy Nuzhnenko captured some of the most powerful examples of the public art now seen on the streets of the Ukrainian capital.
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A mural made by artist Sasha Korban depicting the hands of a soldier sewing together a torn Ukrainian flag. The Kyiv street art was made in late March 2022 amid fighting for the nearby cities of Bucha and Irpin.
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A mural depicting Anastasia Tykha, who featured in a famous photo as she evacuated dogs, including some that were disabled, from Irpin when the city was under Russian occupation.
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A mural to the "Ghost of Kyiv," an apocryphal fighter pilot that Ukrainian government social-media accounts falsely claimed had single-handedly downed six Russian aircraft in the opening hours of the Russian invasion.
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A mural to "St. Javelin," an image created by a Canadian former journalist who now runs a company selling products spun off from the original graphic.
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A mural by artists Vitaliy Gidevan and Olena Noyna to Patron, a Jack Russell dog that captured hearts around the world for his work detecting explosives for Ukraine's emergency services while wearing a customized vest.
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Gidevan and Noyna also created this Kyiv mural titled “Heroes Without Weapons,” which depicts a rescuer.
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A mural by French artist Christian Guemy depicting a Ukrainian soldier, believed to be Oleksandr Matsievskiy, in the seconds before his murder. The soldier defied Russian troops holding him at gunpoint by declaring "Glory to Ukraine" before being shot dead.
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Street art by Andriy Yermolonko that appeared in December 2025 referencing the Russian missile strike on Kyiv's Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in July 2024.
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A mural depicting soldiers of Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade. The image was painted on a building that was home to Serhiy Mashovets who died defending Kyiv in March 2022.
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A mural of gratitude to volunteers in a suburb in Kyiv that was completed in June 2023. The artwork depicts a couple embracing while being held by multiple hands. The hands reportedly represent the charities and organizations that have helped Ukrainians in need.
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A mural painted by Noyna and Gidevan in 2023 depicting a young Ukrainian soldier who Kyiv claimed downed seven Russian aircraft with a shoulder-mounted antiaircraft weapon.
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A mural titled "Defenders of the Light" depicting a soldier guarding the sky from Russian strikes and an engineer ready to repair power infrastructure.
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A mural based on images of Croatian football fans paying tribute to Ukrainian soldiers.
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A mural depicting a phoenix on a Kyiv building that was rebuilt after being destroyed by a Russian missile in March 2022.
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Fallen Ukrainian soldiers on a wall in Kyiv dubbed the "Alley of Friends."
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A mural by the Ukrainian artist collective Paint Hunters, depicting a soldier on the wall of an apartment building in Kyiv.
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A mural that appeared in December 2023 referencing imprisoned soldiers that were captured in Mariupol's Azovstal factory. The mural was reportedly the initiative of wives of the then-imprisoned Ukrainian soldiers.
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A massive mural to Maksym Bordus, a kickboxing champion who was killed while fighting in the Azov Brigade in southern Ukraine in June 2023.
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A retaining wall in Kyiv with the message "remember the price of freedom," featuring names of fallen soldiers of Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade.
