Andrei Molodkin, a Russian conceptual artist, created the sculpture “Putin Filled With Ukrainian Blood” using 850 grams of blood from eight Ukrainian soldiers, three of whom are in the front line while the others are waiting to be mobilized. Molodkin created the artwork while at The Foundry, an artists’ residence in southern France that was visited by soldiers before returning to Ukraine to take part in the fight against Russia. Kristina with her husband Sasha Levchuk, who donated his blood to make a creepy portrait of Mr. Putin (Photo: Kristina and Sasha Levchuk) “Before they returned to Ukraine, I decided to take their blood and create a bloody portrait of Putin, as it is a very simple way to show that you are a bloodthirsty criminal and art is the only thing we can trust, as it has no manipulation. in this “, said Mr. Molodkin in i. Speaking about how the soldiers expressed the desire to accommodate their families in the house so that they could be in a safe place during the war, Mr. Molodkin said: “We try to make them happy, but of course it is very difficult because everyone they are worried and we do not often have news “. The eight-meter image of the Russian president, who has been in power for 22 years, is made of acrylic and plexiglass. Andrei Molodkin is a former soldier of the Soviet Union and an ardent critic of Vladimir Putin (Photo: Andrei Molodkin) Molodkin, who hopes to exhibit the portrait in Moscow’s Red Square, said the “scary thing” to consider was that the soldiers who donated their blood “could die the next hour.” Sasha Levchuk is among the soldiers who donated their blood to make the creepy sculpture of the 69-year-old Russian leader. His wife Christina, who lives in the artists’ residence, told me that he was “shocked” when he first saw the work of art as he believed it to be “the real thing”. “It really is what is happening now,” he said, “because it’s the blood of all the innocent, the children and the women and everyone.”

The UN estimates that at least 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the start of the war, although this is believed to be low. More than 12.7 million people have fled, both inside Ukraine and abroad. Families like Ms Levchuk have split as all men of working age are required by martial law to remain in Ukraine and fight. Ms Levchuk said she was “proud” of her husband, who fought both militarily and ideologically in the artwork, which he considered “very symbolic”, as “it’s the blood of Ukrainians from the crimes committed by Putin. “. “I am proud to be fighting for freedom, for ideas and for the future,” he said. She said her husband told her “everyone is scared” in Ukraine and she is outraged that she could not join the EU earlier. “They believe that Putin can do whatever he wants because no one can protect them, that is the reality and everyone is scared,” Levchuk said.