Prince Harry visits Kyiv, urges US leadership to end Ukraine war and calls on Putin to stop conflict as fighting enters fifth year
KYIV: In a surprise visit to Kyiv on Thursday, Britain’s Prince Harry urged the United States to take a decisive role in ending the Russian invasion and called on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to “stop this war”.
It is Harry’s third visit to the war-torn country — under attack by Moscow’s forces for more than four years — to support wounded veterans as part of his Invictus Games Foundation.
Speaking at the Kyiv Security Forum, attended by AFP reporters, he said Ukraine had set an example in “leadership” and “unity” since the invasion began in February 2022.
“The Ukrainian people have done something extraordinary. You have adapted, you have endured, and you have held the line,” he said.
“Few believed that would be possible. And yet, here you are. Still standing, still fighting, and still leading,” he said.
US-led efforts to end the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II have largely ground to a halt against the backdrop of the war in Iran.
“This is a moment for American leadership — a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations, not out of charity, but out of its own enduring role in global security and strategic stability,” Prince Harry said.
He also addressed Russia’s Putin directly, calling on the authoritarian leader to “prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike, and to choose a different course.”
“President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing. There is still a moment now to stop this war,” Harry said at the conference.
Ukraine’s national railway operator earlier published a video of Prince Harry disembarking a train after arriving in Kyiv.
He is set to visit the Halo Trust, a mine-clearance charity that was supported by his mother, Princess Diana, during his visit.
“Even as communities rebuild and support one another, the dangers of war persist,” he said at the security forum.
“Across fields, towns, and villages, landmines and unexploded ordnance remain. A silent, enduring threat to civilians, long after the fighting moves on,” he added, highlighting the work of the Halo Trust.
