Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli Channel 12: Drone launched from Yemen which struck passenger lounge in Ramon Airport, two injured.
Presidium: We have a very urgent resolution, and if general principles and details approved, it will be discussed in public session.
Spokesperson of Presidium: Guardian Council members will attend Parliament tomorrow during discussions for resolution on NPT withdrawal.
Iran's parliamentary presidium: We will look today into parliamentary National Security Committee's recommendations on withdrawal from NPT.
Ukrainian media: Fire in Ukrainian government building in Kiev.
Trump signs executive order on changing name of Department of Defense to Department of War
Syrian media: A car bomb detonated in Al Mashhad Street in Aleppo, potential casualties reported
Lebanese government: The army will act within the framework of the relevant decision during the August 5 session, but it has the right to exercise operational discretion
Lebanese government: The Army Commander outlined the restrictions related to the implementation of the plan, the first of which is Israeli attacks
Lebanese government: The Lebanese Army will begin implementing the plan under the available capabilities

Mural of Russian-Ukrainian embrace removed due to "offensive" view

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 5 Sep 2022 16:03
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

Australian street artist CTO takes down his own mural following a Russophobic outcry by the Ukrainian ambassador.

  • x
  • The original mural (www.ctoart.com)
    The original mural (www.ctoart.com)

Artist Peter Seaton, who goes by the nickname CTO, covered his work called ‘Peace before Pieces’ that showed a Russian and a Ukrainian soldier hugging each other, in Melbourne mere days after finishing it last week due to an immense pressure campaign by pro-Ukraine activists, who accused him of ignorance.

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia, Vasily Miroshnichenko, was one of the public figures who snapped at CTO on social media on Saturday for failing to consult “the Ukrainian community in Melbourne” about the illustration, calling for the mural’s removal. 

Miroshnichenko shared some altered versions of the mural on social media, with one made by an Australia-based anti-Beijing cartoonist from Hong Kong, showing the Russian soldier stabbing the Ukrainian counterpart in the back. Another portrayed the soldiers as a Nazi and a Jewish person marked for extermination.

Related News

Kazakhstan summoned Ukrainian Ambassador over remarks on Russians

This led CTO to apologize to people offended by his mural but he rejected the ambassador’s claim that the painting's message relayed false equivalence, saying that he believed all humans were united on a fundamental level and was hopeful that they could overcome the differences that made them commit acts of violence against one another. 

Read more: Russia on Zaporozhye NPP: Western media must end Russophobia

CTO justified that his work “doesn’t say you have to love the Russians. No. It’s just that love is fundamental within us, and anything that takes us away from love is not acting in our best interests in the long run. I really stand by that.”

Miroshnichenko remarked that CTO had been “swift” to take down the work from the city of Melbourne. This comes after a wave of Russophobia hit Russian citizens around the globe following the war in Ukraine, whereby EU countries like the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland, and the Netherlands have taken steps to impede visa issuances to Russians, in addition to Russian diplomats and ambassadors being removed from their duty stations such as Slovakia and Belgium. 

The enormous series of packages by the West for sanctioning Russia are significant factors in both contributing to and promoting Russian hate crimes and discrimination. Sanctions even included acts against Russian cats. Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho pointed out earlier this year that the crisis in Ukraine was being used as a pretext for peddling anti-Russia sentiment, tweeting: "Ukraine crisis a convenient excuse for Russophobia". 

  • Ukrainian Ambassador
  • Russia
  • Kiev
  • Australia
  • Ukraine
  • paintings

Most Read

Al Mayadeen English

Hezbollah’s weapons and the lessons of Syria, PLO, and Algeria

  • Politics
  • 2 Sep 2025
This Jan. 31, 2019 file photo, shows an oil platform in the Leviathan natural gas field, in the Mediterranean Sea off the Palestinian coast. (AP)

Netanyahu freezes $35 bln gas deal with Egypt over troops in Sinai

  • Politics
  • 2 Sep 2025
The Coming War On Iran Will Be Regional, Perhaps International

The coming war on Iran will be regional, perhaps international

  • Opinion
  • 2 Sep 2025
ap

Germany blocks EU push to sanction 'Israel' over war on Gaza

  • Politics
  • 31 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
FILE - Homes are illuminated after the sunset in Tasiilaq, Greenland, Friday Aug. 16, 2019.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
Politics

Trump allies running influence campaign in Greenland: Report

ap
Health

Russia completes preclinical trials of cancer vaccine, seeks approval

ap
Politics

South Korean workers detained in US immigration raid to be released

Araghchi: E3 made 'big mistake' on snapback sanctions
MENA

Araghchi: E3 made 'big mistake' on snapback sanctions

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS