Scandalous mural was covered in Australia

After a flurry of criticism, Australian artist Peter Seaton (pseudonym CTO) apologized and covered his scandalous mural, depicting a soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a russian invader in an embrace.

It is reported by the BBC.

According to Seaton, the mural symbolized a call for a peaceful settlement of the russian-Ukrainian war.

However, after a wave of criticism, Seaton apologized for his work, saying it was "clumsy" and he "didn't think it would be perceived so badly." The artist added that he stayed up until three in the morning to paint the mural.

Critics of the mural said the artwork creates a false moral equivalence between Ukraine and russia and compared the mural to russian propaganda.

"What would people think if a mural showed a rapist and a victim hugging? Trying to be 'just' and buy into the false narrative that 'all we need is peace' is supporting evil in this case," co-chairman of the Federation of Ukrainian Organizations of Australia, Stefan Romaniv, said.

Even more, the ambassador of Ukraine to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, said that this artwork is extremely offensive to all Ukrainians.

Local arts organization Art4Ukraine Australia said it had already expressed concerns about the artwork before its creation and was shocked to see the result.