Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to Kyiv following an invitation from the Ukrainian government. The Duke of Sussex travelled to the Ukrainian capital with his Invictus Games Foundation team to support thousands of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war against Russia.
During the trip, Harry and his foundation team are detailing new initiatives to support rehabilitation of the wounded. The eventual aim is providing help to all areas of the country, with the government now placing rehabilitation through sport at the heart of its veteran support policy.
Prince Harry said: "We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process." He emphasised the importance of keeping the human cost in public consciousness, stating: "We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through."
The prince's visit follows a chance meeting with Olga Rudnieva, founder of the Superhumans Trauma Centre in Lviv, which treats wounded amputees. Harry said: "I bumped into Olga in New York. It was a chance meeting and I asked her what I could do to help. She said 'the biggest impact you have is coming to Kyiv'."
Humanitarian mission focus
According to The Guardian, an estimated 130,000 people in Ukraine have been left with permanent disabilities from the war. The scale of the challenge has prompted the government to integrate sports-based rehabilitation into its core veteran policy strategy.
The visit occurred after Prince Harry met King Charles in London on Tuesday, marking their first meeting since February 2024, as reported by the BBC. Harry travelled to Ukraine via Poland before taking an overnight train to Kyiv.
Growing Ukrainian involvement
Ukraine first participated in the Invictus Games in 2017, but enthusiasm and need for the competition has grown dramatically since the conflict with Russia began. Harry founded the games in 2014 for wounded veterans to compete in sports events.
The Duke recalled the reception Ukraine's team received at the games in The Hague two years ago. Harry said: "It was remarkable. Every one of the participants had a journey to get to those games, but nobody from any of the other competing nations was going back to war. Some of the competitors were being pulled off the battlefield and were going back to the battlefield."
During his visit, Harry is scheduled to meet 200 veterans at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. He is also due to meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko to discuss expanding support programmes.
Concrete results achieved
The Invictus Games Foundation has been increasing its sports recovery programmes beyond the main biennial games, including providing sports equipment directly in Ukraine. Natalia Kalmykova, Ukraine's veterans affairs minister, said sport had become "a key function in veterans' healthcare."
By March this year, more than 22,000 veterans across Ukraine had accessed benefits like gym memberships and pool passes. Kalmykova added: "It's thanks to our relationship with the Invictus Games Foundation that we established, and continue to develop, the role of sports in recovery in Ukraine."
Sources used: "The Guardian", "BBC", "Daily Mail", "Metro" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
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