In Ukraine, thieves attempt to remove the Gas-Masked Woman artwork by Banksy

A group of people who attempted to cut the mural from a war-damaged wall in Hostomel were detained by police.

By chopping it off the wall where it was painted on, a group of people in Ukraine attempted to steal a Banksy painting.

A piece of board and plaster with the picture of a woman carrying a fire extinguisher while wearing a gas mask and a dressing gown was cut off by the group.

Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of the Kyiv area, stated in a statement that they were seen at the scene in the nearby city of Hostomel and that the mural was collected.

He stated that cops were guarding the image and that it was still in tact.

These pictures represent our fight against the enemy, after all. We'll make every effort to keep these pieces of public art as a reminder of our victory, he declared.

Police released photos showing the yellow wall with a sizable patch that had been cut all the way to the bricks. They claimed that several persons were detained on the spot.

The mural and six others were painted by Banksy, whose artwork can fetch millions of dollars on the art market, last month in areas that had been severely damaged by intense fighting following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February.

Another painting depicts a young gymnast doing a handstand on a little mound of concrete debris. One more depicts an elderly man taking a bath.

In a third painting, a boy is shown flipping a man who resembles Vladimir Putin during a judo battle.

Banksy rose to fame around the city of Bristol, in southwestern England, in the early 1990s.

The anonymous street artist has travelled to areas affected by war and conflict in the past, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza.