(*12*)
The suspected mastermind behind the removal of a Banksy mural in a Ukrainian city faces as much as 12 years in prison if found guilty, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said on Monday.
A murals depicting A woman in gas mask and a robe with a hearth extinguisher were faraway from a wall in the town of Hostomel on December 2, in response to officials.
![The mural by British street artist Banksy shows a woman in a gas mask standing on a chair and holding a fire extinguisher.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/INSTAR_a4Y3nqsv6.jpg?w=1024)
The ministry announced on its website that the person it said had organized the operation had received a “notice of suspicion”.
A piece by a widely known British artist has been valued at greater than $243,900, the ministry said.
![Andriy Nebytov, head of Kyiv's regional national police, stands next to a work by street artist Banksy that a group of people tried to steal from the wall of an apartment building in the city of Hostomel.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/2022-12-03T143057Z_878015001_RC2EYX9O4KTN_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-BANKSY.jpg?w=1024)
“Criminals tried to move this graffiti using wood planks and polyethylene,” it said.
“Due to the priority of the residents, the police and other security services managed to apprehend the criminals.”
The mural has been recovered.
Banksy confirmed that he painted the mural and 6 others in places affected by heavy fighting following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February.