Spy Chief and His Fairytale Frog: The Fascinating Tale Behind a $6,000 Artwork

Ukrainian artist Yevgenia Gapchinska portrayed the chief of the Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, with his pet frog, which resides in the office of the country’s military intelligence boss. The painting quickly sold for $6,000.

The painting, done in the characteristic style of the Ukrainian artist, is titled “Budanov and the Magical Frog,” according to a TSN video report.

“This is the favorite of our whole family. There are few colors and few details, but it has that magical smile, the famous one that we all love,” said the artist.

Gapchinska mentioned that she had never visited the head of the HUR’s office and depicted his image based only on frames from one of his interviews. In her painting, the general is accompanied by a frog from the aquarium in his office, which “dances” and has become famous thanks to memes on social media. The artist called the frog “fairytale-like,” saying it seems to “whisper” to the head of the HUR and “knows something.”

She named the painting “Budanov and the Magical Frog” as soon as she finished it, but a few hours later, she decided to erase the title. However, she was unable to remove the inscription with a solvent, even though the paint sometimes takes a whole week to dry. The artist’s daughter laughed with Budanov’s well-known laugh at this.

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Ukraine’s chief intelligence officer revealed that the frog’s name is Petro, and it is 17 years old. In response to Gapchinska’s comments about the frog’s “whispering,” Budanov replied, “Maybe, but that will remain between us.”

“I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Ukrainian artist Yevgenia Gapchinska, whose work I have long admired, painted a picture [of me] with my frog,” Budanov added.