Ukrainian daredevil "Mustang Wanted" has claimed via Facebook that he's the person who painted the "seven sisters" spire in Moscow in Ukrainian blue and raised the Ukrainian flag overnight on August 19-20.
He suggests he will turn himself in to Russian authorities "in exchange for the release of a brave Ukrainian girl -- Nadya Savchenko," a reference to a Ukrainian military pilot who is in Russian custody after being kidnapped and handed over by separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The death-defying urban legend -- who also identifies himself as Heorhiy in the post -- published what appears to be a selfie from atop the painted Stalin-era star, painted blue and yellow, high above the Moscow riverbank.
He says on Facebook that he has photos and video evidence to prove his claim.
"It took me almost all night and I finished about 6 a.m.," he says.
He says his confession "is aimed at liberation of those innocent Russians accused of hooliganism and who have every chance of falling victim to the well-known fairness of Russian justice."
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Four young Russians who were said to have been carrying climbing gear were detained and accused of the overnight stunt, which quickly went viral and appears to have sparked a wave of Internet memes by people who disagree with Russia's actions in neighboring Ukraine.
The Ukrainian pilot, Savchenko, has been accused by Russian authorities of complicity in the killing during fighting in eastern Ukraine of two Russian journalists.
On Facebook, Mustang Wanted says he did the painting and "raised the flag of independent Ukraine" in "a fit of sincere patriotic sentiment."
He dedicates his stunt to Ukrainian Independence Day, which is August 24, and to "all the guys defending my homeland now! Glory to Ukraine!"
-- Andy Heil
