Heir to throne visits troops near Ukraine border: Royal House

The heir to the throne met soldiers deployed near the border with Ukraine, said the Royal House on Wednesday.

The Royal of Norway said in a statement that the Crown Prince was "At Rzeszow in Poland, not far from the border with Ukraine, the Crown Prince met Norwegian soldiers. Their mission is to protect the airport in the area, an important hub for international assistance to Ukraine."

It said, "Three Nasams launching ramps are deployed here and staffed by 130 Norwegian soldiers."

"The Crown Prince also visited a Norwegian-backed medical evacuation center. From there Ukrainian patients and wounded soldiers are sent to land in Europe."

UK royal Prince William also visited British troops in Estonia in March on a trip aimed at underlining his country's support for NATO operations in Eastern Europe.

William, heir to the British throne and eldest son of King Charles, was in Tapa camp, around 200 km (125 miles) from the Russian border, inspecting infantry fighting vehicles and riding on a tank wearing full, camouflaged military fatigues.

Britain has about 900 troops in Estonia and Poland as part of 'Operation Cabrit', the British contribution to the expansion of NATO's forces on the alliance's eastern flank following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The prince's two-day visit came as Britain and other European allies were ramping up defence spending in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for other NATO nations to contribute more to Europe's security.