Injured war personnel in Ukraine, were given a boost when they received a surprise visit from Prince Harry, as the Duke of Sussex was joined by those from the Invictus Games Foundation
Prince Harry made an unscheduled trip to Ukraine where he met with injured war victims at a rehabilitation clinic, it has been confirmed.
The ex Royal visited the Superhumans Center, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv treating and and rehabilitating wounded military personnel and civilians. He was joined by a contingent from the Invictus Games Foundation, including four veterans who have been through similar rehab experiences as those they met in Ukraine. The centre helps provides prosthetics, reconstructive surgery and psychological help free of charge for those injured in the line of protecting their country from evil Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
His visit was kept secret until after he safely had left the area of Ukraine, which has frequently been targeted with Russian missiles since the outbreak of war. The Duke of Sussex, who served 10 years in the British Army, 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 is the second member of the royal family to visit Ukraine after his aunt, Sophie, 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. King Charles warmly greeted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of support at his estate on the North Sea coast two days after his explosive meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Harry’s older brother, Prince William, met with Ukrainian refugees during a two day visit to Estonia last month.
Harry travelled to Ukraine after spending two days in a London court where he is appealing the British government’s decision to strip him of his government-funded protection after he quit working as a member of the royal family in 2020 and moved his family to California.
Proceedings hears Prince Harry’s decision to live abroad prompted the change to his UK security arrangements. Harry has been challenging 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.
The Duke of Sussex has argued he can not bring his wife Meghan and two children, Archie, five and Lilibet, three, to the UK, because he does not feel safe, despite being offered security if there is a specific threat.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos said the Court of Appeal’s decision would be given in writing at a later date, which was “most unlikely” to be before Easter. Sir Geoffrey, sitting with Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis, said: “Plainly we will take our time to consider our judgments.”