Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to Kyiv following an invitation from the Ukrainian government, pledging to do “everything possible” to aid the recovery of thousands of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war against Russia.
During the trip, the Duke of Sussex and a team from his Invictus Games Foundation are set to unveil new initiatives to support the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers, with the eventual aim of providing help across the country. Earlier this year, it was estimated that the Ukraine war had left 130,000 people with permanent disabilities, and the government has now placed rehabilitation through sport at the heart of its veteran policy.
Speaking to the Guardian on an overnight train to the capital, Prince Harry said: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.” He added that he hoped the visit would help bring the reality of the conflict back to public attention, as people can become desensitised.
The prince’s visit was prompted by a chance meeting in New York with Olga Rudnieva, founder and CEO of the Superhumans Trauma Centre in Lviv. After checking with his wife and the British government, he accepted an official invitation. This marks his first time seeing the “real destruction” of the war, having previously visited only western Ukraine.
Ukraine first participated in the Invictus Games in 2017, and interest has surged since the conflict with Russia began. Prince Harry recalled the reception of the Ukrainian team at the games in The Hague two years ago, noting that unlike other competitors, many Ukrainian participants were returning to the battlefield. During his stay, he is expected to visit the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War and meet with 200 veterans and the deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko.
The Invictus Games Foundation has been expanding its sports recovery programmes beyond the main biennial event, including providing sports equipment in Ukraine. Natalia Kalmykova, Ukraine’s minister for veterans affairs, said sport has become “a key function in veterans’ healthcare,” with more than 22,000 veterans having accessed benefits such as gym memberships and pool passes by March this year.
