Duke of Sussex meets war victims in unannounced visit to Ukraine
Harry visited the Superhumans Centre, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians.
The Duke of Sussex met with war victims in Ukraine on Thursday in an unannounced visit to the country as part of his ongoing work with wounded veterans, a spokesperson said.
Harry visited the Superhumans Centre, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians, to see top-notch services provided in a country in the midst of war.
The centre provides prosthetics, reconstructive surgery and psychological help free of charge.
During the visit, he also met with Natalia Kalmykova, Ukraine’s minister of veterans affairs.
The duke, who served 10 years in the British Army and served two tours in Afghanistan where he flew missions as an Apache helicopter co-pilot gunner, has made helping injured soldiers one of his most prominent causes.
He founded the Invictus Games in 2014 to offer wounded veterans the challenge of competing in sports events similar to the Paralympics.
Harry was accompanied by a contingent from the Invictus Games Foundation, including four veterans who have been through similar rehabilitation experiences.
The visit to the area in western Ukraine that has frequently been targeted with Russian missiles was not announced until after he was out of the country.
Harry was in London earlier this week for a two-day Court of Appeal hearing to challenge the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.
Harry, 40, is the second member of his family to visit Ukraine after his aunt, the Duchess of Edinburgh, became the first British royal to travel to the country since Russia’s 2022 invasion when she made an unannounced visit to Kyiv last year.
The royal family has been outspoken in their support for Ukraine, including the King, who warmly greeted Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of support at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk just two days after the Russian president’s stormy televised meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Harry’s older brother, the Prince of Wales, met Ukrainian refugees during a two-day visit to Estonia last month.
