Harry tells wounded veterans during surprise visit to Ukraine ‘you will win war’

Résumé détaillé

The Duke of Sussex was in Lviv to watch Ukrainian athletes compete to qualify for the Invictus Games, which he founded in 2014

The Duke of Sussex has hailed Ukraine’s wounded veterans as “role models” with “so much to give to society” on the second day of a surprise visit to the country.

Harry watched players in the western city of Lviv compete in the black and yellow colours of the Invictus Games which he founded in 2014 to support the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick military service personnel and veterans.

Lviv marked the duke’s fourth visit to Ukraine since the start of the conflict with Russia, which is more than any other member of the royal family.

Harry said the opportunity to visit again was “amazing” and “fantastic”.

Ukraine was holding heats to select players in disciplines including the new sport of pickleball to compete at next year’s Games in Birmingham.

As the final winners were named during a closing ceremony on Sunday, the audience broke out into a spontaneous chant of “Garry, Garry” as his name is pronounced in Ukrainian.

After watching pickleball players, some playing in wheelchairs and others with amputated arms and prosthetic legs, Harry told reporters: “That room is full of role models for society.”

Calling for support for Ukraine’s military to extend to veterans, he continued: “So I think that the more we can do to celebrate them as individuals and also as a community… You know we’ve invested in them before they put the uniform on and we must invest with them once the uniform comes off.”

The 42-year-old duke said the veterans had “so much to give to society”, adding: “Through Invictus we’re going to play the best role we can in that process.”

Début de l'article, extrait de Evening Standard. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.