Murals dedicated to Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee brutally murdered by a repeat criminal in North Carolina, have been vandalized in New York and Florida.
Zarutska fled war-torn Ukraine only to be cowardly and fatally stabbed from behind on a Charlotte light rail train in August by Decarlos Brown Jr., who had already been arrested and released 14 times.
The nationwide mural campaign, largely funded by Elon Musk and other donors who raised over $1 million, intends to honor her memory and raise awareness of the perils of Democrat cities allowing violent offenders off the hook.
This is a mural in loving memory of murdered Ukrainian refugee from Putin's war Iryna Zarutska, funded by @elonmusk, vandalized with "Fuck Trump" sprayed on it and the Reddit post calling it "Fascist".
— Mike Larson (@uxm1ke) February 5, 2026
That's all you need to know about the "progressive" left. https://t.co/UfqOkNIBdJ pic.twitter.com/NtZqvhfdxc
The artworks have appeared in cities including Washington DC, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Pensacola, but have become targets for vandalism by deranged leftists.
In Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, a massive two-story mural on the side of a Taiwanese restaurant was unveiled in January. Within a week, it was vandalized with graffiti reading “F-ck Trump” scrawled across the lower section.
A Brooklyn resident who lives by the mural was not happy about it, telling the New York Post, “This woman — it’s unfortunate what happened to her — but how do you connect her to Bushwick?” It is unclear if he had the same opinion of the George Floyd murals that popped up nationwide.
Another mural on Delancey Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side met a similar fate. Photos shared on social media show it defaced with spray paint saying, “Please vandalize this,” across her face.
Florida has seen even more aggressive vandalism, particularly in Pensacola, where artist Rod Man independently painted a mural on a local bridge in September. The artwork, reading “Pensacola Mourns You” with a heart, was defaced within a day of completion.
The memorial mural for 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Pensacola has been vandalized.
— Alvina Birch (@AlvinaBirch) September 17, 2025
Locals painted it to honor her memory after she was brutally stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail by a repeat offender who should never have been free. The mural read… pic.twitter.com/8wcU4L1PKC
Vandals spray-painted over Zarutska’s face and added commentary mocking her death. The mural was vandalized at least three times.
Deranged leftists are desperate to erase reminders of Democrat policy failures.
Supporters of the murals are refusing to back down, with more planned nationwide.
These acts of vandalism come amid broader criticism from outlets like The Guardian, which described the campaign as “weaponizing her memory” through “sterile” street art funded by Musk and others.
Yet such smears ignore the real issue: Zarutska’s death highlights the deadly consequences of leftist soft-on-crime agendas that prioritize criminals over public safety.
The murder was captured on horrific surveillance footage and released to the public, sparking outrage and prompting comments from President Trump and others about the failures of Democrat-run cities.
In our September 2025 report, we detailed the chilling video where accused killer DeCarlos Brown appeared to admit to the crime, saying “I got that white girl, I got that white girl” as passengers aided Zarutska.
The racial undertones were ignored by corporate media, contrasting it with their obsession over cases like Jordan Neely.
President Trump addressed Zarutska’s murder directly in an Oval Office speech, holding up a photo of the attack and declaring, “We have to respond with force and strength. We have to be viscous, just like they are. It’s the only thing they understand.”
He blasted Democrat policies for unleashing “savage bloodthirsty criminals” and vowed to crack down nationwide
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