Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine to support war-injured

 

Prince Harry has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv to show support for Ukrainians suffering life-changing injuries from the war. The Duke of Sussex arrived by train on Friday morning, where he was welcomed by Olha Rudnieva, founder of Superhumans, a charity providing prosthetics and rehabilitation to those injured in the conflict. She greeted him with a traditional Ukrainian railway gift, a podstakannik – a silver holder for a glass of tea.

Harry is expected to outline new plans to aid the recovery of wounded military personnel, though full details of his programme will not be released until later in the day. Ahead of his visit, he told the Guardian that while the war cannot be stopped, the international community must “do everything possible” to support rehabilitation and recovery. He emphasised the importance of humanising the victims of the war and drawing attention to their struggles.

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The duke previously visited a Superhumans centre in Lviv in April, but this is his first trip to the Ukrainian capital. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians are believed to have suffered amputations since Russia’s full-scale invasion, though Ukraine does not publish precise figures on military casualties.

Prince Harry’s visit is closely tied to his ongoing work with the Invictus Games Foundation, the international sporting competition he launched in 2014 for wounded veterans. Ukraine has been a strong participant in the games, with President Volodymyr Zelensky granting special permission for a team to compete in 2022, only months after the war began. At that year’s opening ceremony, Harry declared the world was united with Ukraine.

On Friday, he visited the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, where he met Ukrainian veterans and posed for photographs with servicemen and their families. The visit also follows a recent pledge from Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation, which announced a $500,000 donation to support children injured in both Ukraine and Gaza. The money will go toward medical evacuations through the World Health Organization and developing prosthetic care for young people.

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The wider Royal Family has also shown solidarity with Ukraine. King Charles met President Zelensky earlier this year and praised the country’s resilience, while Prince William spoke with Ukrainian refugees during a visit to Estonia in March. Harry’s Kyiv trip comes just days after he reunited with his father in London for the first time since early 2024.