Prince Harry arrived in Ukraine on an overnight train. Photo / Invictus Games Ukraine
Prince Harry arrived in Ukraine on an overnight train. Photo / Invictus Games Ukraine
Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to Ukraine in a show of support as the country enters its fifth year of war with Russia.
“It’s good to be back in Ukraine,” Harry said after he stepped off an overnight train from Poland, The UK’s ITVreported.
Harry told theoutlet the trip was “to remind people back home and around the world what Ukraine is up against and to support the people and partners doing extraordinary work every hour of every day in incredibly tough conditions”.
The trip comes days after the duke finished a tour of Australia with his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
While in Ukraine, Harry spoke at the Kyiv Security Forum along with Western defence and government officials.
“I am not here as a politician,” Harry said. “I am here as a soldier who understands service, as a humanitarian who has seen the human cost of conflict, and as a friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow used to this war or numb to its consequences,” the Independent reported.
“Beyond the visible losses, there is the invisible cost: The trauma carried by those returning from the front. The psychological strain on families living under constant threat and bombardment.”
Harry spent 10 years in the British army, including two tours of Afghanistan. After leaving the army, he founded Invictus Games Foundation to help veterans deal with the effects of war.
He warned that the impact of the war would last “for years to come”.
Prince Harry arrived in the Ukraine on an overnight train. Photo / Ukrainian Railways
Harry said the United States had a “singular role in this story”, the Independent reported.
“Not only because of its power, but because when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons, America was part of the assurance that Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders would be respected.
“This is a moment for American leadership – a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations – not out of charity, but out of its enduring role in global security and strategic stability.”
He told attendees the world must not become numb to conflict.
Prince Harry speaks at the Kyiv Security Forum in Ukraine. Photo / Getty Images
While in Ukraine, Harry will visit workers with The Halo Trust, the de-mining charity his mother, Princess Diana, championed during her 1997 visit to Angola, ITVreported.
The organisation’s biggest operation is in Ukraine, where 1300 staff are clearing landmines and Russian ordnance that continue to kill and injure civilians.
The trip is Harry’s third unannounced visit to Ukraine since the war began.
