The United Kingdom’s Prince Harry met with war-wounded Ukrainians this week in a surprise visit to Lviv as part of his work to support military veterans’ well-being.
“This is my first visit to Ukraine, and it certainly won’t be the last,” the royal said in a video posted Friday by the Superhumans Center, an orthopedic clinic near Lviv that provides free prosthetics, rehabilitation services, and mental healthcare for wounded military personnel and civilians.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, served 10 years in the British army before launching the Invictus Games in 2014, in which wounded veterans compete in sporting events.
While in Lviv, which is in the country’s western region, the prince met with Ukrainian military personnel – including some who participated in the Invictus Games – and watched surgeons perform an operation, his office said in a statement.
He said it was “absolutely mind-blowing” that the Superhumans Center offers so many services in one facility, adding that “there is no rehabilitation centre in the world that feels like this”.
Rehabilitation is a priority for Ukraine’s health system, which has been under extreme pressure since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded in February 2022.
It’s not clear how many Ukrainians have lost limbs since the full-scale invasion, but German estimates last year put the number between 30,000 and 50,000.
Superhumans Center opened in 2023 to help them and other wounded Ukrainians transition to life after the war.
Andrey Stavnitser, a Ukrainian businessman and the facility’s co-founder, applauded Prince Harry’s visit in a social media post, saying he appreciated that a “man who is recognised in every corner of the planet, a man who has devoted his fame and influence to the strengthening of the authority of veterans” visited the centre.