Prince Harry has praised the ‘courage’ of a landmine clearance charity during his surprise visit to Ukraine this week.
The Duke of Sussex, 41, joined the HALO Trust, the largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation in the world, near the town of Bucha on Friday.
He flew an AI-powered drone which detects and maps the position of lethal explosives and then operated a robot used to remove explosives from the ground.
Harry mirrored his mother Princess Diana, who also previously worked with the landmine clearance in charity.
In January 1997, she famously walked through a minefield in Angola, in central Africa, wearing a HALO Trust flak jacket and helmet.
And the Duke himself spoke to families who live near Africa’s largest minefield as part of HALO’s community outreach programme, which aims to keep people safe from landmines until they are cleared by trained experts, in July last year.
His crossing of the cleared minefield mirrored Princess Diana’s in 1997, when the nation experienced a brief period of peace following a two-decade civil war that had left the country contaminated by more than 15million landmines.
Prince Harry of his visit with HALO on Friday said: ‘It’s amazing to see technology transform the work of the HALO Trust – making mine clearance smarter, faster and safer.
The Duke of Sussex, 41, joined the HALO Trust, the largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation in the world, near the town of Bucha in Ukraine on Friday
He flew an AI-powered drone which detects and maps the position of lethal explosives
Prince Harry then operated a robot used to remove explosives from the ground during the second day of his surprise visit to the war-torn nation
The Duke’s visit mirrored Princess Diana when, in 1997, she famously walked through a minefield in Angola, in central Africa, wearing a HALO Trust flak jacket and helmet
‘When my mother visited Angola nearly 30 years ago, deminers carried out their work on their hands and knees to uncover hidden explosives. Now they’re also using drones, AI and robots for greater precision and protection.
‘This isn’t just progress – it’s lifesaving. HALO’s deminers help farmers to plant and harvest the land without fear and despite the war.
‘Their efforts mean that, one day, displaced Ukrainians can return home to safe communities.’
He said he is ‘incredibly proud to support this new generation of mine clearance’, adding: ‘Ukraine is still at war, but HALO’s work brings safety and hope.’
HALO has been clearing mines in Ukraine for a decade and continues its life-saving work despite the ongoing war against Russia.
During his visit to Bucha, the Duke of Sussex also paid his respects to a memorial dedicated to the civilians who have been killed in Russia’s occupation of the town from February 27 to March 31, 2022, when the conflict began.
The atrocities committed in the town triggered international condemnation at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.
The trip came as Donald Trump launched a blistering attack against the Duke after he urged the US to honour its obligations to Ukraine and Nato despite the President’s fury over his Western allies’ reluctance to join the war on Iran.
During his visit to Bucha, the Duke of Sussex also paid his respects to a memorial dedicated to the civilians who have been killed in Russia’s occupation of the town
Here he is pictured speaking with staff from the landmine clearance charity HALO in Bucha
Pictured: Prince Harry takes remote control of a landmine clearance drone during his visit
Trump sarcastically dismissed Harry’s ‘great advice’ and said that he believes he speaks more for the UK than King Charles III’s youngest son.
Mr Trump, who has repeatedly branded Harry’s wife ‘terrible’, also hit out at Meghan Markle as he spoke in the White House last night.
The President, who said after Megxit that Harry needs a ‘lot of luck’ due to his marriage to Meghan, went on to ask yesterday: ‘How’s he doing? How’s his wife? Please give her my regards.’
But he did say he was looking forward to spending time with his ‘friend’ King Charles when he arrives for his state visit with Queen Camilla next week.
On Thursday, Prince Harry secretly made a surprise visit to Ukraine claiming he was there to ‘remind the world’ and ‘people back home’ in Britain about the war with Russia.
He spoke at a security conference the same day, telling Ukrainians he had not forgotten their plight.
‘The world sees you and respects you,’ he told delegates.
The Duke added that there is a need for ‘American leadership’ in the war with Russia, saying the US needed to ‘honour its international treaty obligations’.
Prince Harry secretly made the surprise visit to Ukraine claiming he was there to ‘remind the world’ and ‘people back home’ in Britain about the war with Russia
On Thursday, he spoke at a security conference, telling Ukrainians he had not forgotten their plight
He had secretly arrived in Kyiv by train on Thursday morning after last week’s pseudo-royal tour of Australia with wife Meghan
His unannounced visit to Kyiv came just a week after Russia launched its deadliest aerial assault on the capital so far this year.
Moscow bombarded the country with a wave of drone and missile strikes, killing 17 people and injuring more than 100. Four died in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old boy.
‘It’s good to be back in Ukraine’, Harry said, adding praise for how its people had been ‘bravely and successfully defending Europe’s eastern flank’.
He had arrived in Kyiv by train on Thursday morning having spent last week in Australia with Meghan on their controversial pseudo-royal tour.
