Soon after Prince Harry arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine today, he attended the Kyiv Security Forum, where he was the keynote speaker. His speech was seemingly released to the media ahead of time, because lots of journalists seemed to know what he would say. Harry actually spoke Vladimir Putin’s name, but he didn’t mention Donald Trump by name. Harry referenced the failures of American leadership, which are very real and devastating for Ukraine.
Prince Harry, the younger son of Britain’s King Charles, made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Thursday to show his support for the country, which he said is “bravely and successfully defending Europe’s eastern flank.”
During an address at the Kyiv Security Forum on Thursday morning, Harry contrasted European support for Ukraine with the United States.
“The United States has a singular role in this story not only because of its power but because when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons, America was part of the assurance that Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders would be respected,” he said. “This is a moment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honor its international treaty obligations, not out of charity but out of its own enduring role in global security and strategic stability.”
Harry said Europe’s support has been crucial to Ukraine’s defense but that more is needed faster. “Europe has stood up in profound ways. And that support has mattered, and Ukraine knows it,” Harry said. “The task now is to match endurance with speed.”
Harry described the war as an ideological battle between liberal democracies and their authoritarian foes. Pointing to the forcible deportations of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, Harry said that the “distinction could not be clearer” between Ukraine’s respect for international law and human life and Russia’s lack of it. “Under international law, this forcible transfer of children from one national group to another is not just a war crime. It can constitute an act of genocide. When carried out with intent to destroy a people’s identity,” he said.
Harry issued a message directly to two presidents – Trump and Putin – about the war in Ukraine. He was speaking in Kyiv at the start of an unannounced visit in which he is meeting senior members of the Ukrainian military and some of the thousands of soldiers who have been seriously wounded in the conflict. He also defended his visit to Ukraine, saying he was “not here as a politician”.
Prince Harry told the Russian president that there is “still a moment, now, to stop this war… Years into this war, with immense losses and limited gains, it is increasingly clear that this path offers no victor – only more loss. President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing.”
[From CBS News & ITV’s YouTube transcript]
Every so often, I even find myself astounded by Harry’s bravery and courage. To have all of this heat on him 24-7, the international media breathing down his neck and screaming at him and about him every single day, and he still shows up and speaks with authority and meaning about war. To issue a direct statement to Putin, and to question the lack of American leadership… he knows that people are going to be furious. He still did it anyway, because someone had to say it and because Harry has always known that he, like his mother, could draw international attention to these kinds of situations.
Screencaps courtesy of YouTube.
Good for Harry for speaking out even when he knows people will attack him in the press. He has one hell of a backbone.
I think, though, that he may have put his ability to remain in the US at risk.
Uh oh, now the petty tabloid press will focus on the fact that members of the BRF are not supposed to make political statements and use this as material for story lines for weeks, if not months. But Harry is probably expecting this line of argument, too. It will still draw attention to the fact that Putin’s war is immoral and needs to end, so no press coverage is bad press coverage in this situation.
He has the bravery of his mother that’s for sure… Britain and it’s left overs should treat it’s treasures better and Prince Harry is a treasure to be protected.
Harry is an incredible man and very brave.
I honestly don’t know how he does it! Both he and Meghan have incredible backbones and determination. I admire their strength.
I guess that’s what happens when you know your purpose/mission..you’re willing to fight for it despite any detractors.
They have a good example in Harry’s mom for sure.
Though I still think Meghan gets a brunt of the “punishment” even for anything Harry is doing.
With that said I think their boldness and strength will be rewarded soon in ways that even their haters will be recognizing them.
Good. Call it all out, Harry.
The speech is worth the full listen, truly. He’s very good at this, and it’s because he actually cares about things that matter.
Like Obama said in a speech in Berlin prior to becoming president, Harry is speaking as a citizen of the world. I think it takes tremendous courage to address the US and Russia directly, as it is not without risk.
I think President Baby Fists Epstein will be annoyed, perhaps livid, that Harry dare to criticize him, and normally I’d be worried that the Heritage Foundation might use Harry’s speech as a reason to renew their efforts to get Harry deported. But Baby Fists has a lot on his plate right now and way bigger fish to fry.
Even if Harry was speaking as a former soldier rather than a politician, as he said, his speech was an example of how things should be done.
Calling out Vlad the Mass Murderer, reminding Felon47’s maladministration that the Budapest Memorandum exists and is binding for all signatories — I appreciate Harry’s bravery to address Putin’s war crimes in a direct, clear, concise way that I don’t think I’ve seen used by other people in similar public roles.
When I caught Harry’s speech earlier today — Kyiv is an hour ahead of us — I sadly also caught the infuriatingly delusional comments left by the Derangers. Not the usual suspects, because I think I have most of them blocked, but the run-of-the-mill mouthbreathing right-wing royalists who think Harry is the poorly educated one, and… way worse.
Can’t they take a deep breath for the greater good just once, and appreciate Harry’s efforts to shine a light on the ongoing atrocities committed by russia and the contributions Harry makes to wounded veterans through Invictus and by supporting so many other initiatives that help with rehab and (mental) healing?
❤️ 🇺🇦
I’m so proud of Harry and all that he accomplishes!
Dang, this man has stones! Good for you, harry. Spoken like a true global statesman.
Though I know he’ll never see it, I’ll just say Thank You.
Thank you, Harry, for speaking out on behalf of all of us who have no platform, no voice but our vote, and who want to see all of these wars of aggressive greed and would-be autocracy ended.
Prince Harry is a magnificent man and the English got the Cracker Jack prize as their king.
I am so impressed by Harry I can’t believe I’m saying it. He has really worked hard at communicating what I believe is truly in his heart. I wasn’t sure about him initially, but Meghan always vouched for him, so that’s it then. But, wow I’m so glad, and impressed, that he spoke this at this time.
I am aghast at the immoral cupidity of little ‘d’ donald for bombing Iran because he’s greedy for oil profits; misfiring, perhaps intentionally, and predominantly killing little Iranian school girls and boys among the 156 civilians killed. When everyone is surprised at the Iran bombing, donald tries to claim he’s preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. But donald was the one that withdrew the US in 2018 from 2015 JCPOA that had been painstakingly crafted by hundreds of experts over two years. The JCPOA was a good deal, that even my Jewish senator finally came around to voting for.
So now little ‘d’ donald and the idiotic tRumplicans have relaxed sanctions against Soviet Union in order to improve petrol flow that they disrupted in the first place. And you claim to be worried about nuclear proliferation with Iran? What about Vlad bombing Ukraine? Remember Ukraine that agreed to give up nuclear weapons 32 years ago? What have little donald and tRumplicans done to uphold the spirit of that agreement with Ukraine — they threatened them and tried to extract concessions in both tRump1 and tRump2 admins. And allowed Vlad to run roughshod with free reign. Absolutely shameful. But as donald’s neice told us six years ago, he’s “a petty, pathetic little man—ignorant, incapable, out of his depth, and lost in his own delusional spin. What Donald can do in order to offset the powerlessness and rage he feels is punish the rest of us.” I am so impressed by Harry for speaking this at this time.