Artist to project sculpture with human blood on St Paul's Cathedral after Prince Harry's kill claims

Prince Harry's confession about killing 25 Taliban fighters while serving in the army has prompted an artist to create a sculpture which will "drench St Paul's Cathedral in the blood of Afghani people".

Sky News reports that Russian artist Andrei Molodkin was inspired to create a sculpture, featuring blood donated by Afghan refugees, which will be projected onto St Paul's Cathedral, alongside footage of the Duke of Sussex.

Mr Molodkin's projection is in protest over Prince Harry's controversial remarks about the number of people he killed in Afghanistan.

The Duke of Sussex has faced backlash after making these revelations in his recent memoir Spare.

In Spare, he wrote of killing Taliban fighters: “So, my number: Twenty-five. It wasn’t a number that gave me any satisfaction. But neither was it a number that made me feel ashamed.

"Naturally, I’d have preferred not to have that number on my military CV, on my mind, but by the same token, I’d have preferred to live in a world in which there was no Taliban, a world without war.”

Prince Harry also admitted that he did not think of those he killed as "people" - but instead as "chess pieces" which had to be removed from the board.

He wrote: “While in the heat and fog of combat, I didn't think of those twenty-five as people. You can't kill people if you think of them as people. You can't really harm people if you think of them as people. They were chess pieces removed from the board, Bads taken away before they could kill Goods.”

Mr Molodkin told Sky News the remarks from make him "very, very angry" and it sparked his desire to create his latest sculpture.

It comes after last year, Mr Molodkin created a portrait of Vladimir Putin filled with Ukrainian blood as a protest against the invasion of Ukraine.

The sculpture has been made in collaboration with his Ukrainian friends and co-workers, based with him at The Foundry in France, who donated their blood before returning to their home country to fight.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Molodkin said: "They read they are just 'chess figures'... for some prince hunting by helicopter.

"It looked like a safari situation. How he told it, for him, it's like a computer game."

The artist revealed four Afghans in Calais had already donated blood for the sculpture and another five in the UK are due to do so also before the stunt is undertaken by the end of the month.

He said around 1,250ml of blood in total will be used, after a registered nurse administers the donations.

The human blood is kept in a fridge before being "pumped" into the sculpture of the royal coat of arms.

Mr Molodkin said: "Blood will go in the royal coat of arms, it will circulate in there.

"It will be projected... onto the cathedral - so all the cathedral will be in the blood of Afghani people."

Footage of Prince Harry will also feature alongside the sculpture.

The Russian artist has not sought out permission from St Paul's Cathedral - but said the location was chosen as it is a place "for everyone".

He added: "Everyone can come there and pray. Donating blood, it's kind of a way of praying."

Prince Harry's book prompted criticism from senior military figures, including former head of the Royal navy Admiral Lord West, who called the Duke of Sussex "very stupid".

Admiral Lord West warned Harry had increased the risk of threat against the Invictus Game as a result of his remarks.

Taliban officials have since called for Prince Harry to be put on trial - with a senior leader in the organisation saying the militants he killed were "not chess pieces, they were humans".

A spokesperson at St Paul's Cathedral confirmed to ITV News that they have had no contact from the artist. 

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