Some of the most moving parts of Netflix’s Heart of Invictus series are the sections about Ukrainian Invictus competitor Yulia “Taira” Paievska. Through her story, we see the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, we see the Ukrainian people gearing up to fight for their homeland, and we see some of Yulia’s capture by the Russians and subsequent release, in no small part because of the spotlight of Invictus. In the games held in The Hague, Dusseldorf and Whistler, the other Invictus competitors really put their arms around Team Ukraine, because many of the Ukrainian competitors were still serving in various capacities for the military during the war. At the Dusseldorf games, Yulia even got to spend some time with Prince Harry and Meghan, and they were all very honored to meet each other.
Well, you know how Harry was in London on Tuesday and Wednesday for his security hearing? It turns out that he didn’t fly home to California after the hearing. He flew to Ukraine, at the invitation of the CEO of The Superhumans Center.
Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Ukraine, where he met with war victims. After attending a court hearing in London about his U.K. security on April 8 and 9, the Duke of Sussex, 40, traveled to Lviv on Thursday, April 10, to visit a clinic supporting wounded military personnel and civilians. The Superhumans Center — where patients receive free prosthetics, surgery, and psychological support — had extended an invitation to Prince Harry from CEO Olga Rudneva, both last year and again at the Invictus Games Vancouver-Whistler in February, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said.
The purpose of the visit was for Harry to see firsthand the best-in-class support and rehabilitation services being provided in a country actively experiencing war.
Harry, who spent 10 years in the British Army, was accompanied by a contingent from the Invictus Games Foundation, including four veterans with similar rehabilitation experiences. The Duke of Sussex founded the adaptive sporting event for wounded and sick service personnel and veterans in 2014.
Prince Harry and his group toured the center, where they met patients, medical professionals and the surgical team to learn more about the services provided.
He also met with members of the Ukrainian Invictus community, including Yulia (Taira) Paievska, a Team Ukraine competitor whose story was featured in the Harry’s Netflix docuseries Heart of Invictus. Ukraine has been part of the Invictus Games movement since 2017. The Duke met with Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs, Natalia Kalmykova.
[From People]
In case you want the comparison, a few years ago, Prince William went to Poland to visit some of the military efforts somewhat close to the Polish-Ukrainian border. William also recently visited Estonia for a breezy 36-hour trip which was focused on NATO’s support of Ukraine. Part of King Charles’s visit to Italy is also about the greater European alliance in supporting Ukraine too. But Charles and William haven’t bothered to actually fly into Ukraine and see what’s happening on the ground. I’m not surprised that these invitations are extended to Harry, nor am I surprised that Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs met with Harry too. Once countries realized that they could invite the Sussexes directly and secure this level of attention towards veterans’ causes and many other issues, I’m sure Harry and Meghan are swimming in invitations from all kinds of countries and veterans’ groups.
A video covering Prince Harry’s recent visit to Ukraine.
He said “I want to remind Ukraine that the world stands with them. And Invictus will be a partner of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Invictus Team for as long as needed. We love the partnership.” 🇺🇦❤️pic.twitter.com/6lSTVvUoPL— Katerina 🇺🇦 (@Le__Katerina) April 11, 2025
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Photos courtesy of Superhumans Center’s IG Stories, Getty and Stavnitser Andrey’s IG.
