Kyiv, Ukraine
—
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to the country’s rail operator.
The trip on Friday comes after Harry made a solo journey to Britain earlier in the week during which he reunited with his father, King Charles III, for their first face-to-face meeting in 19 months.
The news of the surprise trip to Kyiv was confirmed by Ukrainian Railways, who said in a statement: “We are happy to welcome friends of Ukraine aboard our trains!”
According to a report from The Guardian, which said it accompanied Harry on the train journey, Harry made the visit after an invitation from the Ukrainian government.
The prince arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train with a team from his Invictus Games Foundation, and is expected to detail new initiatives to support the rehabilitation of wounded Ukrainians.
In February 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told British journalist Piers Morgan that around 390,000 incidents of military injury had been recorded since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Zelensky pointed out then that many of those in service have been wounded multiple times during the conflict, as returning to the battlefield has often meant vulnerability to further injury.
While in Kyiv, Prince Harry offered his support to Ukrainian veterans at a gathering at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, Reuters reported.
He met with 200 former service members and engaged in discussion about fresh initiatives for the rehabilitation of soldiers seriously injured in war.
“A charitable organization cannot end the war, but it can significantly contribute to the recovery of wounded soldiers,” the prince said.
Harry served nearly a decade in the British Army and, like many royals, is involved with various causes and patronages of charities – including ones that help soldiers.
In 2014, he founded the Invictus Games – an international sporting competition for wounded veterans and members of the military. He has also met with wounded veterans in other countries, including during a tour of Nigeria last year.
He has visited Ukraine before, making an unannounced trip earlier this April to meet with war victims in the western city Lviv.
On Wednesday, while he was in Britain, his office said his foundation would donate $500,000 to support children from Gaza and Ukraine, Reuters reported.
The British royal family has outspoken in its support for Ukraine as it battles Moscow’s invasion. The Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, traveled to Ukraine last year to support survivors of war-related sexual violence, while Prince William visited the Ukrainian-Polish border in 2023 to meet British and Polish troops.
More recently in March, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, Zelensky was warmly welcomed in London in a summit attended by many Western leaders.
In a highly symbolic move, King Charles III granted Zelensky an hourlong audience, days after inviting Trump to a second state visit.
A study in June by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that Ukraine has sustained nearly 400,000 casualties since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, with between 60,000 and 100,000 deaths. Russia was forecast to hit the 1 million casualty mark this summer, said the study.
Although Kyiv does not disclose its own combat losses in any detail and Moscow is believed to drastically underestimate its own casualties, the CSIS figures are in line with British and United States intelligence assessments.
Russia launched more drone strikes at Ukraine overnight into Friday, though not in Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian military and various regional governments.
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