Statue of Putin Appears in Kyiv with Gun in His Mouth: 'Shoot Yourself'

A steel construction of Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a gun in his mouth has appeared in the heart of Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

The New York Post reports that the sculpture, titled "Shoot Yourself," was placed in a prominent location in downtown Kyiv next to a monument for Soviet-era leader Vladimir Lenin.

"Putler, did you understand the hint?" an inscription reads, comparing Putin to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

According to CTV News, the sculpture, constructed by artist Dmitry Iv, stood in the prominent location for eight hours Saturday until it was removed.

"Originally," Iv tells CTV, "I had an idea to create something that would motivate our soldiers to keep on killing Russians," while imitating Putin putting a gun to his mouth and pulling the trigger.

"The sculpture speaks for itself," Iv said of the piece that took a month to construct. "Putin is a war criminal and war criminals can do two things. They can either be put in prison, or shoot themselves."

The artist later mentioned how the sculpture was removed and stored at a warehouse so that others could view it in a new location.

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