Prince Harry received devastating news from war-hit Ukraine as a member of his Invictus Games family was confirmed to have died in combat during Russia’s invasion of the country.
The news was confirmed on Wednesday, March 16, by the Invictus Games Foundation’s official Twitter account that said: "It is with regret that we report that a member of the Ukrainian Invictus Games community has been confirmed as a fatality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
The tweet further confirmed the identity of the Ukrainian finalist as Serhii Karaivan, “a former trialist for the Invictus Games and Warrior Games for Team Ukraine.”
"Serhii Karaivan… his life in fighting on the 13th March, 2022, and our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and the wider community,” the statement read.
The team manager for the Ukrainian team, Oksana, was also quoted in the statement as saying: “It was tough to learn about Serhii’s death as the fighting continues. When we win, we will celebrate his life, talk about him, and his sense of humour, professionalism, patriotism and sports endeavours.”
“Please do not think of him as a martyr, he would not like it. Think of him as a celebrated Invictus Games community member, hero and defender of Ukrainian people,” she added.
The Invictus Games’ statement further read: “We know that many of the Invictus Games competitors, alongside the staff and team management, signed up to serve once again, many of whom already had injuries sustained in conflict with Russia since 2014. The Invictus Games Foundation offered support, but as a team they chose to stay, and serve.”
The statement was concluded with an important message, that the upcoming games should serve as a “powerful reminder of the importance of recovery and rehabilitation from physical and mental trauma.”