A blunt warning from Prince William, a century after war ravaged the continent: Ukraine crisis is a threat to all Europe

Controversial: The Prince today highlighted the conflict in Ukraine while talking about the legacy of the First World war in Belgium Prince William used a speech about the legacy of the First World War yesterday to highlight the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, addressing the audience in Liege, among them dignitaries including King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, French president Francois Hollande and German president Joachim Gauck, the young royal said: ‘Edith Cavell was a British nurse who saved soldiers from each side. ‘The events in Ukraine testify to the fact that instability continues to stalk our continent.’ As the prince spoke, news was breaking that Russia’s air force is to begin drills involving more than 100 aircraft from bases close to the Ukraine border. In April, the Mail reported how Prince Charles told a Polish woman, who had lost many of her Jewish family in the Nazi Holocaust: ‘And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler.’ Scroll down for video Addressing the crowd: William, bottom left at the podium, spoke to an influential audience including the French and German presidents and the royal family of Belgium His remark, made during an official tour of Canada, was seen as hugely inflammatory by the Russians.