Prince Harry visited Ukraine’s war-scarred city of Lviv on Thursday, adding star power to a significant diplomatic week. His appearance coincided with NATO allies in Brussels pledging $23 billion in new aid for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia.
During the trip, Harry toured the Superhumans Center in Lviv and met wounded veterans supported by his Invictus Games Foundation. The Duke of Sussex visited Ukraine unofficially after stopping in London to attend a court case about his security detail.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, accused Russia of recruiting Chinese nationals as fighters, calling it part of a systematic and deliberate campaign. He said over 150 Chinese citizens are fighting in Ukraine for Russia, calling the effort a direct breach of international norms.
Russia dismissed the accusation and denied such recruitment, while China reiterated its stance against citizen involvement in foreign conflicts. The European Union’s latest aid boost pushed its total support for Kyiv to $114 billion, surpassing U.S. assistance figures.
On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe could “go even further” in its support for Ukraine. President Zelenskyy also planned to press allies about Ukraine’s air defence shortages at a summit with 50 countries on Friday.
In parallel, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for renewed backchannel diplomacy with top Russian officials. Witkoff met with Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin-linked head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, to discuss potential ceasefire frameworks.
Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the meeting and said Witkoff would also meet President Vladimir Putin for further talks. According to Russian state media, the Kremlin aims to use these meetings to send its position directly to Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s mineral wealth remains central to U.S. interests, with talks ongoing about joint development projects as leverage for aid. As Prince Harry visits Ukraine, Zelenskyy’s administration balances symbolic morale boosts with critical wartime negotiations and global diplomatic maneuvering.
