Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Friday, pledging to do “everything possible” to help thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and service personnel injured in the country’s war with Russia.
The Duke of Sussex flew into Poland before boarding a train to the Ukrainian capital on his way back to the United States following a short stay in the United Kingdom. The visit, his first to Kyiv, came days after Russian forces carried out what Ukrainian officials described as the largest air strike on the city since the conflict began in February 2022.
Speaking on arrival, Harry said he had checked with his wife and the British government before traveling. "We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process," he told reporters, adding that visits such as this help to "humanize the people involved in this war" and keep the conflict in the public eye.
The stopover was connected to his work with the Invictus Games and followed an earlier trip to Ukraine in April, when he visited Lviv and met wounded service members at the Superhumans Trauma Center, an orthopedic clinic that treats and rehabilitates injured military personnel and civilians. He was invited to Kyiv by Olga Rudnieva, who runs the Lviv center.
Harry is expected to visit the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War to meet veterans and to hold talks with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. Organizers said the duke planned to meet hundreds of veterans and service personnel during the brief visit.
A former British Army officer who served for 10 years, Harry founded the Invictus Games to support wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans. His advocacy for rehabilitation and recovery services has been a prominent part of his public role since leaving active royal duties.
The Kyiv visit followed a series of charity appearances in London and a private meeting with his father, King Charles, at Clarence House earlier in the week — their first in-person meeting in nearly two years, according to royal sources. After the brief stop in Kyiv, Harry was expected to travel to the United States to rejoin his wife, Meghan, and their two children in California.
Officials and aides framed the visit as a humanitarian and symbolic gesture rather than a diplomatic mission. The trip underscores ongoing international attention on Ukraine as it continues to treat and rehabilitate large numbers of service members and civilians injured in more than three years of conflict.
The visit also comes amid persistent bombardment and security challenges across Ukraine, where hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centers have faced strain in responding to casualties. In Lviv in April, Harry toured the Superhumans center to observe care and rehabilitation services already in place and to highlight the needs of wounded Ukrainians.
Organizers said the duke’s presence in Kyiv aimed to draw public attention to recovery efforts and to encourage continued support for medical and rehabilitation programs for those affected by the war. He left Kyiv the same day to continue his journey west.
The trip adds to a string of high-profile international visits by members of the British royal family and public figures to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, reflecting ongoing global efforts to maintain political and humanitarian focus on the conflict and its human toll.