Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Say They 'Stand With the People of Ukraine'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are speaking out about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday, the couple released a brief statement on their Archewell Foundation website, titled: "We stand with the people of Ukraine."

"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," reads the statement.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are able to make such a declaration after officially stepping down from their roles as working members of the royal family last year. Royals usually do not comment on current events or politics, and no other member of the British royal family has publicly reacted to the situation in Ukraine and Russia. However, since becoming independent citizens, who are no longer working royals, Harry and Meghan have spoken out about a variety of political and current events in the past year.

Russia's attack on Ukraine began Wednesday night, according to NATO officials. The late-night invasion started moments after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had "decided to conduct a special military operation" to protect eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.

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