KYIV, April 23 (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday and called on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to end the war – a week after a massive Russian aerial attack on the country – and on U.S. President Donald Trump to show leadership to help resolve the conflict.
By convention, the British royal family do not speak out on political matters, although King Charles and other senior royals have regularly voiced their support for Ukraine. But Harry, on his third visit to the country since the war began, used far more explicit language than any of his relatives have done previously.
“President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing. There is still a moment – now – to stop this war, to prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike, and to choose a different course,” Harry said in a speech to a Kyiv security forum.
He called on Washington to do more to bring about an end to the war.
“This is a moment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations,” he said.
“Europe has stood up in profound ways,” added Harry, a British Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. “The task now is to match endurance with speed, solidarity with scale, and commitment with consistency.”
In his speech, which drew huge applause, he praised the Ukrainian people’s resolve and the innovative response of its military, including its advanced drone capabilities.
On his two-day visit Harry is also expected to visit the de-mining HALO Trust charity, supported by his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and spend time with Ukrainian participants of the Invictus Games Foundation he founded, which helps wounded veterans recover through sport, according to Britain’s ITV.
“I am not here as a politician, I am here as a soldier who understands service, as a humanitarian who has seen the human cost of conflict, and as a friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow used to this war or numb to its consequences,” Harry said.
Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Additional reporting and writing by Anna Pruchnicka and Mike Holden; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Hugh Lawson
