Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say they ‘stand with’ the people of Ukraine

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were ridiculed today after intervening in the Ukraine crisis with a statement condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion, amid jokes that the Russian president would be ‘shaking in his boots’.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex wrote on the website of their Archewell charity: ‘Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and all of us at Archewell stand with the people of Ukraine against this breach of international and humanitarian law and encourage the global community and its leaders to do the same.’

But the couple, who live in an £11million mansion in Montecito, California, some 6,000 miles away from Kyiv, were criticised for a ‘breathtakingly arrogant’ statement and accused of ‘once again making this about them’.

Their statement issued at 10pm UK time last night came after Russia launched a full-scale invasion early yesterday morning, thought to be Moscow’s most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed. Several explosions were heard in the capital of Kyiv early this morning as Russian forces pressed on with their assault.

Today, Twitter was abuzz with reaction after Harry and Meghan issued their statement – which was headed ‘We Stand With The People Of Ukraine’ – as some social media users posted memes poking fun at the couple.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex condemned the Russian invasion, in a statement published on their Archewell website

Royal biographer Angela Levin, author of 2018 book Harry: Conversations with the Prince, said that the statement was ‘breathtakingly arrogant’, also tweeting: ‘Only a few days ago Harry was calling himself ‘just a regular guy’.’

GB News host Colin Brazier added: ‘Nothing throws an invasion into reverse like a lightning strike from the Sussexes.’ And broadcaster Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘This will really rattle Putin.’

Arnold Schwarzenegger: I hope sanity will prevail in Ukraine conflict

Arnold Schwarzenegger said he hopes ‘sanity will eventually prevail’ as he expressed admiration for the Ukrainian people and their bravery ‘in the face of this nightmare.’

The former bodybuilder and action movie star said that having grown up in the aftermath of war he knew that ‘everyone suffers’ during and after conflict. 

Schwarzenegger, who has previously served as Governor of California, was born in Austria in 1947.

In a statement shared on Instagram, he wrote: ‘My thoughts are with the Ukrainian people. I have been asked to do several interviews, but I believe the news should continue to focus on what is happening on the ground – on the tragedy that has broken our hearts and the bravery of the Ukrainian people that has inspired us.’

‘I am not a foreign policy expert, so I will leave the analysis to smarter people than me. I do know what it is like to grow up after a war, in an occupied country, and I know that in war and its aftermath, no one wins. Everyone suffers. War has a way of breaking the winners as well as the losers.’

He continued: ‘I have Ukrainian friends and fans and I have Russian friends and fans. As far as I can tell, none of them want this. I hope sanity will eventually prevail and end this unnecessary war before too many lives are broken.

‘In the meantime I stand with the people of Ukraine. I share your grief and your hope for peace. You inspire me with your bravery and your humanity in the face of this nightmare. God bless you.’

A further Twitter user said: ‘Phew, that’s that sorted then. Putin will immediately recall the military and send them back to their garrisons. Thanks for that Harry and Meg, you saved us all. We owe you one!’

Another wrote: ‘What a joke. Are they speaking for the UK or American? Or just jumping on for attention. Harry and Meghan have spoken. Putin Russian president is now scared LOL.’

And one social media user said: ‘Don’t tell me they actually care about someone else beside themselves, once again making this about them again, you got to laugh.’

The Sussexes have regularly spoken out over major issues and global conflict since stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family in early 2020 and leaving Britain to start a new life in California, where former actress Meghan is originally from.

After moving to the US, they were accused of wading into the American presidential election when they urged voters to ‘reject hate speech’ in a message widely interpreted as an attack on Donald Trump and tacit support for Joe Biden’s campaign.

And last August the ‘heartbroken’ Sussexes said the Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan left them ‘speechless’ in a long statement – but they were slammed for ‘another attempt to form an alternate woke royal family’.

Also, social media users at the time branded their statement ‘vague publicity seeking word salad’ and said it was ‘irrelevant’ because it did not mention how they personally would be helping in the Afghan crisis.

And last December, Harry warned of ‘corporate greed and political failure’ prolonging the pandemic – calling for global vaccine equity and comparing it to the HIV crisis in 1980s and 1990s.

Harry spent 10 years in the British Army and performed two frontline tours of Afghanistan as a air controller with the Blues and Royals on the frontline in Helmand province, and as an Apache attack helicopter pilot during the two-decade Western intervention.

The Sussexes’ statement last night came after it was announced that Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, are to be honoured by one of America’s best-known civil rights groups this weekend.

The couple will receive the president’s award tomorrow at the NAACP Image Awards, which recognise achievements by people of colour. 

Past recipients of the President’s Award include Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, LeBron James, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Bill Clinton and Venus and Serena Williams.

Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said: ‘We’re thrilled to present this award to Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who together have heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the US and around the world.’

The NAACP was founded in the US in 1909 as the ‘National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’. 

The ceremony is their first major Hollywood event since leaving the royal family, and will see them rub shoulders with host Anthony Anderson and dozens of A-listers.

‘It’s a true honour to be recognized by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose efforts to propel racial justice and civil rights are as vital today as they were nearly 115 years ago,’ the couple said in a statement.

‘We’re proud to support the NAACP’s work and to also partner with the organisation on the newly created annual NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, which will be bestowed to Dr. Safiya Noble as part of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards.’

This morning, fresh strikes hit Kyiv amid warnings Russian forces are closing in on the capital as Nato allies prepare to determine the West’s next steps against the Kremlin.

The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a tweet just before 4am this morning that ‘horrific rocket strikes’ hit Kyiv in an attack he compared to the city’s 1941 shelling by Nazi Germany.

Firefighters work at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, this morning

A building damaged following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv today after the Russians invaded Ukraine this week

People gather in an air raid shelter in Kyiv last night as the conflict causes widespread global outrage

‘Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany,’ he said. ‘Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Sever all ties. Kick Russia out of (everywhere).’

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the government had information that ‘subversive groups’ were encroaching on the city, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv ‘could well be under siege’.

US officials believe the action is an attempt by Mr Putin to dismantle Ukraine’s government and replace it with his own regime.

Leaders of the 30 Nato allied nations will meet today, US President Joe Biden confirmed, as they come under pressure to go even further than sanctions already announced to hit the Kremlin after what Boris Johnson described as a ‘dark day in the history of our continent’.

By the end of yesterday, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed.

However, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said it is ‘unlikely’ Russia achieved its planned objectives for the first day of its military action in Ukraine, crediting ‘fierce resistance’ from the Ukrainian forces.