Prince Harry on surprise visit to Ukraine: visiting war wounded in Lviv

Confidential trip to meet patients at the Superhumans Center. Speculation includes strengthening the Invictus Games Foundation’s support for wounded Ukrainian soldiers and a political signal against Russian aggression

A surprise visit and kept secret until his departure. Prince Harry travelled to Ukraine to meet with some war wounded, in a symbolic gesture of solidarity in the midst of the conflict that has been raging in the country for more than three years. The Duke of Sussex made a stop in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine repeatedly hit by Russian missiles, where he visited the Superhumans Centre, a centre specialising in the rehabilitation of mutilated soldiers and civilians.

This was announced by a spokesman for the prince, who explained that the visit – which took place on a strictly private basis – was aimed at closely observing the work carried out in the field by the professionals at the facility. Harry was accompanied by a delegation from the Invictus Games Foundation, including four veterans who have completed physical and psychological recovery courses.

Founder of the Invictus Games in 2014, Harry wanted to strengthen the foundation’s link with Ukraine, which has already been present in the games since the Toronto 2017 edition. The CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation, Rob Owen, called Ukraine ‘a key part of the project’, adding that the visit demonstrates the concrete commitment to injured soldiers even in extremely complex scenarios such as Ukraine.

During his stay in Lviv, the prince also met with the Ukrainian Minister for Veterans Affairs, Natalia Kalmykova, discussing the needs of medical facilities in the war zone and future prospects for collaboration with international bodies.

Harry’s is the second visit by a member of the British royal family to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion: before him, in 2023, the Duchess of Edinburgh visited Kiev. More recently, his father, King Charles, received Volodymyr Zelensky at the Sandringham estate, while Prince William met Ukrainian refugees in Estonia.

A trip, that of the Duke of Sussex, which also has a symbolic value in diplomatic terms, with a clear personal and institutional closeness to the Ukrainian people.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)