Britain’s Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Friday, September 12, 2025, underscoring his ongoing commitment to supporting wounded service members amid the devastation of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Arriving by overnight train—a journey shrouded in secrecy for security reasons—Harry stepped onto Ukrainian soil less than a week after the capital suffered one of its deadliest aerial attacks since the full-scale invasion began more than three years ago. The timing of his visit was poignant: just days earlier, Russian drones had struck a government building, killing at least five people and rattling a city already weary from conflict, according to The New York Times and NPR.
Harry’s visit, his second to Ukraine since April of this year, was not a mere photo opportunity. As reported by the Associated Press and Reuters, he arrived with a team from the Invictus Games Foundation—his charity dedicated to rehabilitating wounded soldiers—to detail plans for expanding support to Ukrainian veterans. The prince’s itinerary included a visit to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, meetings with more than 200 veterans, and private discussions with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova. He also laid a wreath at Kyiv’s Maidan Square, a site deeply symbolic of Ukrainian resilience.
“We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process,” Harry told The Guardian during his overnight journey to Kyiv. “We can continue to humanize the people involved in this war and what they are going through. We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitized to what has been going on.”
The prince’s presence in Ukraine was the result of a direct invitation from Prime Minister Svyrydenko and Olga Rudneva, head of the Superhumans rehabilitation center in Lviv, which Harry first visited in April. During that earlier trip, he toured the center—a facility providing prosthetic limbs, reconstructive surgery, and psychological support to both military personnel and civilians wounded in the conflict. The experience left a mark. “In Lviv, you don’t see much of the war. It is so far west. This is the first time we will see the real destruction of the war,” Harry recounted, as quoted by Fox News Digital.
Before traveling to Kyiv, Harry sought the blessing of his wife, Meghan Markle, and the British government, reflecting both his personal commitment and the diplomatic sensitivities of his journey. “I had to check with my wife and the British government to make sure it was OK. Then the official invitation came,” he explained, according to Fox News Digital and Reuters.
Harry’s advocacy for wounded veterans is deeply personal. A British Army veteran himself, he served for a decade—including two tours in Afghanistan—before founding the Invictus Games in 2014. The event, a Paralympic-style competition, brings together injured military personnel from around the world to compete and heal through sport. Ukrainian veterans have participated in the Invictus Games since 2017, and the country is now bidding to host the games in 2029, as NPR reported. This year, Harry announced plans to broaden the foundation’s mission to include post-conflict rehabilitation for individuals and entire communities, with Ukraine a central focus.
Charitable support extended beyond words. The Archewell Foundation, established by Harry and Meghan, announced a $500,000 donation this week to projects aiding injured children in both Gaza and Ukraine. The funds, according to NPR and The New York Times, will help the World Health Organization with medical evacuations and support the development of prosthetics for children who have suffered life-changing injuries. Earlier in the week, Harry met with WHO leader Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in London to discuss these initiatives, reaffirming his commitment to global humanitarian causes.
Harry’s trip to Ukraine came at a time of heightened tension and violence. Just days before his arrival, Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the start of the war, with a barrage of drones and missiles targeting Kyiv and other cities. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was also in Ukraine, announcing a new round of UK sanctions aimed at curbing Russia’s oil revenues and military supplies—a clear signal of diplomatic solidarity, as reported by NPR.
The prince’s journey to Kyiv was not without risk. Russian drones had recently entered the airspace of NATO member Poland—the very country Harry traveled through to reach Ukraine. Security concerns were paramount, and details of his schedule were tightly guarded.
Back home, Harry’s surprise visit to Ukraine followed a significant personal milestone: a reunion with his father, King Charles III, in London. The two met for tea at Clarence House on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, marking their first in-person meeting in over a year and only their second since February 2024, when Harry rushed to Charles’s side after the king’s cancer diagnosis. Their relationship has been strained since Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties and moved to California in 2020, a move that sent shockwaves through the royal family and British public alike.
Observers saw the father-son meeting as a hopeful sign of reconciliation. After their private tea, Harry briefly addressed royal watchers, saying of his father, “He’s great, thank you,” according to the New York Post. Sources close to the prince told People magazine that King Charles had not been answering Harry’s calls or letters for some time, underscoring the significance of this reunion. As Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, noted, Harry appears intent on extending an olive branch, focusing on healing both family and international wounds.
Harry’s UK visit also included a poignant tribute to his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. On the third anniversary of her death, he visited her grave in Windsor and laid flowers—a gesture that resonated with many Britons still mourning the passing of the long-reigning monarch.
Throughout these travels, Harry’s message has been one of empathy, action, and hope. “There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” he told the BBC in May, reflecting on his desire for family reconciliation. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
As war continues to ravage Ukraine and the royal family seeks to mend old wounds, Prince Harry’s actions speak volumes. His presence in Kyiv, alongside wounded veterans and world leaders, signals a commitment to both personal and collective healing. In a world often numbed by relentless headlines, Harry’s journey is a reminder that compassion and solidarity can still make a difference—one visit, one conversation, one act of support at a time.