Metro Vancouver 'Stand with Ukraine' mural vandalized with pro-Russia graffiti

Mounties in Burnaby, B.C., are investigating after a mural voicing support for Ukraine was defaced with a reference to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's dubious justifications for invading the country.

Mounties in Burnaby, B.C., are investigating after a mural voicing support for Ukraine was defaced with a reference to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's dubious justifications for invading the country.

The blue-and-yellow "Stand with Ukraine" mural on Wilson Avenue near Metrotown was modified with red spray paint to read "Down with the Ukraine's Nazis."

Putin has justified Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "special military operation" meant to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" the country. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish and the country's government does not espouse neo-Nazi ideology. Putin's claims may be a reference to the far-right Azov Battalion, a national guard formation aligned with Ukraine that does hold neo-Nazi views. 

Burnaby resident Martin Kendell posted a photo of the vandalism on social media Saturday, calling the perpetrator an "a**hole."

Kendell said he found out about the vandalism from his friend Jordan Malcolm, the artist who painted the mural.

"I was absolutely furious," Kendell said, adding that he's "frustrated this level of hatred exists in Burnaby."