Prince Harry laid a wreath with a flower and flag monument for the war deaths of Ukraine on Maidan -Square of Kyiv during a surprise visit to support the country in his fight against Russia, as well as the thousands of seriously injured veterans.
Harry said he wanted to do “everything possible” to help the restoration of the thousands of soldiers who were seriously injured in the three -year war against Russia.
During the trip to Kyiv, after an invitation of the Ukrainian government, Harry and a team of his Invictus Games Foundation gave details about new initiatives to support the rehabilitation of the injured, with the ultimate goal of offering help to all areas of the country.
The work of the foundation has become a passion for the prince and he admitted the goal that it had given him after leaving the army had “saved”.
“When I was 21 or 22, I think I hated the institutional role [of the monarchy]Probably because of what my mother did, “he said.
“When I was young, I appreciated the attention that came to my role within the institution. But then I grew up to learn the impact and responsibility associated with service through military service. It is the goal of serving others who saved me.”
Harry said he had come to Kiev to show his support to the country and all the veterans who now recovered and rehabilitated their injuries.
“We can’t stop the war, but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.
“We can continue to humanize the people involved in this war and what they are going through. We have to keep it at the forefront of people’s heads. I hope that this trip will help to bring it to people home, because it is easy to become insensitive to what is going on.”
Earlier this year it was estimated that the Ukraine war had already left 130,000 people with permanent disabilities – and the government has now brought rehabilitation through sport into the heart of its policy to help veterans.
The prince said that he was initially invited by Olga Rudnieva, the founder and chief executive of the Superhumans Trauma Center in LVIV, which treats wounded amputers. He visited the center in April, but happened to Rudnieva a few months ago in the US.
“I met Olga in New York,” he said. “It was a casual meeting and I asked her what I could do to help. She said,” The biggest impact you could have is coming to Kyiv. ” I had to contact my wife and the British government to make sure it was ok.
“In LVIV you don’t see much of the war. It’s so far to the West. This is the first time we will see the real destruction of the war.”
The prince has since traveled to Kyiv, met veterans and bombed visiting areas by Russian drones and missiles.
In the afternoon he laid a wreath at a flower and flag monument for the war deaths that originated and continues to grow, on Maidan -Square of Kyiv.
One of those waiting to meet the prince was the EU ambassador in Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, whose embassy was bombed last month.
Mathernová said that the prince had become very popular in Ukraine, despite the fact that he had only visited the country once before. “I think he is associated with veterans and the Invictus games,” she said. “It is not easy to get here during the war. People appreciate the personal time he has taken and the attention it entails.”
Ukraine participated for the first time in the Invictus games in 2017, but the enthusiasm of Ukrainians for the competition, which was founded by the Prince in 2014 for wounded veterans to participate in sporting events, has grown dramatically since the conflict with Russia began.
Harry remembered the reception of the Ukraine team who received two years ago during the competitions in The Hague.
“It was remarkable. Each of the participants had a trip to go to those games, but no one from one of the other competing countries went to war again. That’s why the Ukrainians noticed.
“Everyone felt a huge relationship with them. Some competitors were pulled from the battlefield and went back to the battlefield.
“It means so much to us, because it means so much to them,” he said.
During the trip, the prince would visit the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. He would also meet Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko.
Traveling to Kyiv would give him the chance to see part of the destruction firsthand, he said.
Although the biennial Invictus games have been the center of a large part of the work of the foundation, it has increased its sports recovery programs to offer opportunities for rehabilitation outside the main games, also by offering sports equipment in Ukraine.
Natalia Kalmykova, the Minister of Veteran Affairs of Ukraine, said that sport had become an important function in the health care of veterans.
“It is due to our relationship with the Invictus Games Foundation that we have founded and continued to develop, the role of sports in recovery in Ukraine and why it is included in the veteran policy strategy,” she added.
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