A group of people tried to remove a mural by graffiti artist Banksy in Ukraine on Friday (2) by cutting it out of a battle-scarred wall where the work was painted by the artist, Kiev’s government said.

The group managed to cut a piece of board and plaster with an image of a woman in a gas mask and bathrobe holding a fire extinguisher on the side of a building that was engulfed in fire.

But they were seen on site in the city of Hostomel, near Kiev, and the mural was recovered, Oleksiy Kuleba, city administrator, said in a statement.

The image was still intact and the police were protecting it, the local government representative added.

“These images are, after all, symbols of our fight against the enemy… We will do everything to preserve these works of street art as a symbol of our victory”, he said.

Banksy, whose work can sell for millions of dollars on the art market, confirmed that he painted the mural and six others last month in places that were badly affected by heavy fighting after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

One of the other murals shows a gymnast performing a handstand on a small pile of concrete rubble. Another shows an old man taking a bath.

The police published images of the yellow wall in Hostomel, with a large piece cut down to the masonry. Several people were arrested at the scene, authorities said.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is now in its tenth month. Moscow forces were pushed back from Kiev in the first phase of the war, but fighting continues in the east and south.