A mural of Iryna Zarutska — a Ukrainian refugee — is facing removal in Providence, Rhode Island. Mayor Brett Smiley has called it 'divisive' and 'misguided'. We strongly disagree.

Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was killed on August 22, 2025, in an unprovoked stabbing attack while riding the Lynx Blue Line train in Charlotte, North Carolina. A business in Providence wanted to memorialize Iryna, whose life was stolen in a horrifying act of violence by a man who shouldn’t have even been on the streets. 

Now the Mayor of Providence wants it taken down.

The mural was created to honor her memory and raise awareness about the consequences of failed soft-on-crime policies that hurt innocent law-abiding citizens. The same policies that led to her death are championed in Providence by Mayor Brett Smiley and in other communities across the country.

We must confront these policy failures that led to Iryna's murder, not shutdown the reminder. 

We call on Mayor Brett Smiley, Governor Dan McKee, and the Providence City Council to protect this mural. Don't let Iryna's story be erased.