Prince Harry Walks De-mined Ground in Bucha, Echoing Princess Diana’s Legacy

Prince Harry traveled to the Kyiv region during his visit to Ukraine to walk through a section of forest in Bucha that has been cleared of mines, according to ITV News on April 24.

The area visited by Prince Harry was cleared by The HALO Trust , a humanitarian NGO. The visit evoked one of the most iconic humanitarian images associated with his mother, Princess Diana, who walked through a minefield in Angola in 1997.

In 1997, Angola was recovering from a brutal civil war that had left millions of landmines scattered across the country, causing widespread civilian casualties and hindering post-war reconstruction.

“It is very, very sad, because almost 30 years ago my mother was in Angola, and now we find ourselves in a new conflict again,” the Prince said. He also noted that it will take decades to clear Ukrainian territory of mines following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a speech delivered in Kyiv on Thursday, Prince Harry echoed the words of Princess Diana. In Angola, she had stated that she was “not a political figure, but a humanitarian.”

While in the forest, the Duke of Sussex observed various technologies used for demining. These included drones capable of detecting mines and ammunition on the ground, as well as high-tech robots designed to enter minefields ahead of human teams.

Later, he viewed a demonstration of the R-BOT technology, an unmanned ground vehicle used for the remote disposal of explosive objects. This technology allows HALO teams to remotely inspect explosives, assess threats before approaching, and interact with dangerous objects from a safe distance. This reduces the risk to humans during the most dangerous moments while maintaining the same rigorous operational standards.

During his time in the city, the Duke of Sussex visited the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called, which served as the site of a mass grave during the 2022 occupation .

He viewed photographic evidence of the atrocities and spoke with the rector to better understand the tragic events that took place there. To honor the victims of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Prince laid flowers at a memorial engraved with the names of hundreds of identified residents.

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