Ukrposhta’s commitment

Despite the full-scale war, Ukrposhta has not stopped on its path to modernisation and development. In 2023, Ukrposhta sent and delivered more than 166 million shipments across the country and abroad.

From investing in shelters to allow children to continue studying during wartime to creating the postal operator’s first digital stamps, Kateryna Prymina, PR at Ukrposhta, explores the postal operator’s many achievements over the last 12 months.

For 30 years, Ukrposhta has been intent on its mission to serve and connect all Ukrainians.  As one of the country’s largest companies, it is the only one that reaches out to every Ukrainian: both in cities and in the most remote villages.

About 40,000 Ukrposhta employees meet Ukrainians every day at more than 27,000 service points across the country

Joining forces

Since the beginning of the hostilities, Ukrposhta, together with the national railway carrier Ukrzaliznytsia, have transported around 15 million shipments and paid about UAH 170 million in state aid to evacuated residents of the country.

Yevhen Liashchenko, Chairman of the Board of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, comments on the cooperation between the two companies: “Ukrzaliznytsia had a fleet of mail cars, but they have not been used since the early 2000s. In March 2022, when it was difficult to use the roads, the need to organise fast and safe transportation of mail and humanitarian aid to frontline cities became an acute issue. A month later, Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrposhta launched mail delivery by train. The cooperation of our companies also includes a well-established mechanism of paying state aid to Ukrainians who were forced to leave the frontline areas as well as other social projects. We support each other and have a common goal – to help Ukrainians under any conditions and circumstances.”

Every day, Ukrposhta employees work tirelessly to provide Ukrainians with payments and essential goods, even in the areas of active hostilities.

One of Ukrposhta’s key roles today is to pay pensions, provide social benefits from international organizations such as the International Organisation for Migration and the Red Cross, and deliver parcels and humanitarian aid to thousands of settlements across the country.

Social contribution of the Company

Ukrposhta has played a big role in supporting the country’s economy by supporting enterprises.

In March 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 305, which obliged Ukrposhta, at its own expense, to relocate business entities to the more secure western and central regions of the country. Companies who wanted to relocate had to submit an application to the Ministry of Economy, and this application was then forwarded to Ukrposhta, which provided those companies with transportation services. The business relocation project also involved the Ministry of Infrastructure, civil–military administrations and railway company Ukrzaliznytsia.

Ukraine has a total area of 603,700 km², which is 5.7% of Europe and 0.44% of the world. By this parameter, it is the largest country in Europe.

During March to November 2022, Ukrposhta transported around 3,000 vehicles with equipment and goods from the frontline to safer cities. In total Ukrposhta helped to relocate over 800 enterprises in 2022.

Mykhailo Lashkin, Director of Corporate Clients Business Development Department, Ukrposhta explains more: “Ukrposhta’s role was to help both large manufacturing companies to move their equipment and inventories and online stores to move their stock. For example, one of the first businesses we relocated was the Yakaboo bookstore, – we transported about 20 twenty-ton trucks from Kyiv to Chernivtsi. We have even transported even asphalt plants with the help of road trucks.

This social project has become one of the most important for Ukrainian business. After all, many relocated companies still operate in the western part of Ukraine and support the country’s economy.”

As a socially responsible company, Ukrposhta contributes to solving complex social challenges and overcoming the consequences of the war. The Company focuses its social aid on the equipment of shelters, orphanages, animal shelters and support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. One of the most significant and large-scale projects Ukrposhta is involved in is with the KSE Charitable Foundation, with which Ukrposhta has initiated many charitable projects.

Charity and equipment of shelters for school children 

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many educational institutions have been damaged by shelling. Some of them were practically destroyed, while others had their roofs damaged and windows smashed by the blast wave.  Ukraine suffers from the constant air alerts and shelling.  As a result, many children have to have their lessons in the basements of schools as they are the most resilient part of the building in case of bombing or their learning has moved online.

In 2023, Ukrposhta and the KSE Foundation, as part of the “Zakhystok: Safe Education” programme, equipped shelters for students of seven cities in Ukraine, making them safe, comfortable and modern

Maryna Borysenko Deputy Director for Humanitarian Projects at KSE Foundation explains the significance of the initiative for children: “Quite often, school basements are not only uncomfortable for children, but also dangerous. Some premises are mouldy, and the lack of ventilation makes them unsafe – there have been cases when schoolchildren visited a shelter minimally equipped by the school and could not stay there for more than 20 minutes: they started coughing and felt a burning sensation in their eyes. Therefore, during repairs, we pay a lot of attention to sanitisation, waterproofing, ventilation and use safe materials.

As long as the war continues, staying in shelters is part of the daily life of millions of schoolchildren and preschoolers in Ukraine. We don’t want the shelter to become a “second home” for our children, but we want to reduce the level of stress and anxiety that each child experiences during air raids.”

Thanks to donations raised from the “FCK PTN (PTN PNKh)!” stamp, which Ukrposhta presented on the first anniversary of the full-scale war, 24 February 2023, about 2,500 Ukrainian schoolchildren have the opportunity to study offline.

Maryna Borysenko comments: “Offline classroom education allows students and teachers to interact directly, which contributes to better understanding and learning of the material. Some classes require hands-on activities that are difficult or impossible to reproduce online (e.g., labs, physical exercises, etc.). In particular, most students find it easier to focus on learning in a traditional classroom environment where they are physically separated from home distractions.”

In 2024, Ukrposhta continues to invest in school shelters. This initiative is an important contribution to the future of Ukraine, as some schoolchildren have been deprived of the opportunity to study in classrooms for two years because the shelters are not suitable.

Flourishing of Ukrainian philately

Stamps have taken on a new significance for Ukrainians since the war broke out. Natalia Mukhina, Head of the Philatelic Products Unit, Ukrposhta, explains: “Before the full-scale war began, Ukrposhta issued about 60 themes of art stamps a year.

Today Ukrainian postage stamps have gained a new meaning. While retaining their fundamental function of denoting payment of postage, depending on the theme of the issue, the stamps either inspired the Ukrainian nation to victory or crushed the enemy morally. This was the case with the issues “Russian warship, go…!”, “Crimean bridge for an encore!” and “FCK PTN (PTN PNKh)!”

On 12 April 2022, the day the first wartime postage stamp “Russian warship, go…!” was issued, the whole country woke up in the morning as philatelists. I know it may sound strange, but the large-scale war led to a flourishing of Ukrainian philately. Today, the themes of postage stamps meet the demand of society and the key topic that is of interest to all Ukrainians without exception is our fight against the aggressor. That is why, starting from 24 February 2022, 99% of all Ukrposhta stamp issues are military-related.

In July 2023, the legendary stamp “Russian warship, go…!”, which was presented by Ukrposhta on 12 April 2022, received the highest award of the international philatelic art prize “Asiago” (Italy) – the Grand Prix or – as the organizers call it – “philatelic Oscar”.

Ukrposhta received this high honour for its unique and unprecedented response to Russian aggression and for its special implementation idea. Instead of the traditional appeal to weapons, battle scenes and the use of war-related symbols and images, the stamp “Russian warship, go…!” depicts the understandable to everyone gesture by which a Ukrainian soldier appeals to the enemy in response to an offer to surrender. The strong desire to defend our country and a “special” message to the occupiers were realised by the talented author of the sketch, Boris Groh.

Since the start of the war, Ukrposhta has issued 11 charity stamps. By issuing charity stamps, Ukrposhta also contributes to the restoration of the country’s cultural heritage, which the younger generations of Ukrainians shall see. In December 2023, on the birthday of the prominent Ukrainian poet, philosopher and humanist Hryhorii Skovoroda, Ukrposhta donated UAH 1 million UAH to restore the National Literary and Memorial Museum of Hryhorii Skovoroda, which was destroyed by a Russian missile on the night of 7 May 2022. The donation was raised through the sale of the charity block of stamps “To the 300th anniversary of the birth of Hryhorii Skovoroda. Garden of Divine Songs”.

Ukrposhta: role in the energy efficiency project

In 2023, Ukrposhta became one of the partners of the All-Ukrainian program aimed at reducing the load on the power system by replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving LED lights in Ukrainian homes.

Yosyp Bornak, Deputy CEO of Ukrposhta for Network Development, explains the significance of the programme: “In the fall of 2022, Russia began shelling Ukrainian energy infrastructure, resulting in a shortage of electricity generation and distribution in Ukraine. To maintain energy efficiency and balance energy consumption during peak hours, the government has developed a program of exchanging incandescent lamps to LED lamps. Under the program, every Ukrainian had the opportunity to exchange up to 5 incandescent lamps into LED lamps for free at Ukrposhta offices.”

The program was initiated in late 2022 by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and supported by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The project was implemented by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Ukrposhta with the support of the European Union.

The massive replacement of old light bulbs with energy-saving ones has already reduced electricity consumption by 7-10% at times of peak load on the Ukrainian power grid.

In 2023, about 8 million people in Ukraine joined the program to replace old light bulbs. As Ukrposhta has the largest network of offices across the country and acts as a logistics partner of the program, it is possible to exchange light bulbs in 23,000 settlements all over Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territories.

Digitalisation of processes. The first electronic stamp in Ukraine!

In November 2023, for the first time in Ukraine, Ukrposhta introduced an electronic stamp – a new service for registered letters, which now allows Ukranians to order, download and print an electronic stamp on a standard printer at home or in office in just a few minutes. The use of that new postage stamp indicia has a number of advantages, as the sender does not need to come to a Ukrposhta office to buy stamps and spend time on registration of shipments. The advantages of the electronic stamp have already been appreciated by Ukrposhta’s customers, including large governmental institutions, lawyers and notaries, who send large volumes of correspondence. Currently, the electronic stamp is available for registered letters and in 2024, Ukrainians sending ordinary letters will be able to use the service.

Both existing and new customers of Ukrposhta can generate and pay for an electronic postage stamp online. The use of the electronic stamp makes it possible to track online all operations with the shipment, display the status and history of the shipment in the user’s Personal Account and reduce the cost for postage stamps and preparing letters. All this allows us not only to make the letter sending process convenient for corporate clients but also to reduce the number of queues in post offices.

Olena Stopina, Deputy CEO for Business Development, Ukrposhta comments: “In November 2023, we launched an electronic stamp service, so far only for legal entities.

The digital strategy is a continuation of the company’s overall strategy aimed at making services for our customers as convenient and efficient as possible, and ensuring uninterrupted delivery of services in every remote part of the country. We have set the following priorities for ourselves: switching our services online, increasing the delivery speed to reach 1 day between regional centres and cities of Ukraine, strengthening IT security, digitisng 100% of business processes and others.”

Transformation of Ukrposhta’s logistics network

Over the past 8 years, Ukrposhta has demonstrated steady growth in revenue and shipment volumes, which requires constant development. That is why the full-scale war in Ukraine did not change Ukrposhta’s course towards automated sorting. In 2023, Ukrposhta introduced the first automated sorting line for international shipments. At the end of the year, Ukrposhta completed the installation of automated sorting lines at the right-bank “Kyiv-Pravyi” logistics terminal.

The new sorting equipment for international, small and large postal items allows the terminal to process 18,000 parcels per hour and about 400,000 postal items per day. That is 5 parcels per second. The Company plans to automate facilities of all its terminals and to complete the transformation of the logistics network within the first half of 2024.

In Q2 2024, the company plans to open the innovative left-bank “Kyiv-Livyi” sorting terminal, which will house one more international parcel processing centre, which should significantly reduce mail processing time. Also, in 2024, additional automated letter and newspaper sorting lines will be installed.  Ukrposhta’s 14 logistics centres in other oblast centres and major cities of Ukraine will receive automated lines of lower capacity for sorting of parcels and small packages. This will ensure 100% automated processing throughout Ukraine. The total capacity is expected to be about two million shipments per day.

In addition, as part of its global transformation strategy, Ukrposhta is introducing a new approach to logistics routes. The restructuring of the logistics network and optimisation of delivery routes between terminals, logistics centers and depots, without unnecessary detours and stops, will allow Ukrposhta to deliver shipments to customers in all oblast centers and large cities of Ukraine the very next day.

 The “Ukrposhta. Pharmacy” project

At the end of 2023, Ukrposhta responded to a request from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and started implementing the “Ukrposhta. Pharmacy” project. As a result, Ukrposhta now accepts orders and delivers medicines to the most remote settlements of the country. The “Ukrposhta. Pharmacy” pilot project was launched in seven frontline regions, where the problem with the access to medicines is acute..

The “Ukrposhta. Pharmacy” project is designed to solve three key problems. Firstly, access to pharmacies in those settlements where there are no pharmacies or they have been destroyed during the full-scale war. Secondly, access to medicines that may not be available in stock of the nearest pharmacy. Thirdly, the affordability of medicines, as the nearest pharmacy may not offer optimal prices or may not be part of the “Affordable Medicines” state programme.

Ukrposhta has an extensive network and advanced logistics infrastructure. It reaches the most remote regions of the country, stays close on the frontline and is one of the first to return to the liberated areas. Therefore, by using the available resources, Ukrposhta will help solve the mentioned problems that have arisen throughout Ukraine. It will also help to ensure that Ukrainians will always have the opportunity to get the most essential medicines.

Ukrposhta’s commitment to serving the country has highlighted the important role the postal operator has in providing services and support in the most challenging conditions. Igor Smelyansky , CEO of Ukrposhta comments: “Air alerts and blackouts, economic crisis, rising prices – last year we all faced difficult times. But we adapted to the circumstances, reconsidered our needs, changed our priorities and are happy that we can stay in our country, can work and fight for its independence. Now, clear as never before, our employees, especially those working in the frontline areas, see how critical their work is. They feel the company’s vital importance because sometimes they continue to perform their duties in extremely difficult conditions, travel to the most remote village even if only one person lives there, and they often say: “If not us, who?”. Our employees prove every day that we can be a nation that the whole world looks up to. As well as a company that is admired by the country and serves as an example for other postal operators around the world.”

Timeline of achievements

January 2023 – Ukrposhta joined the All-Ukrainian program aimed at reducing the load on the power system by replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving LED ones

April 2023 — Ukrposhta launched the first automated sorting line for small parcels.

July 2023 – Postage stamp “Russian warship, go…!” won the “philatelic Oscar” – the grand prix of the international philatelic art award “Asiago” (Italy).

November 2023 — For the first time in Ukraine, Ukrposhta introduced an electronic stamp — a new service for registered letters, thanks to which you can order, download and print an electronic stamp on a regular printer at home or in the office in a few minutes.

November 2023  – Ukrposhta received a special award from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum

November 2023 — 1,000,000 orders placed in the Ukrposhta online store were delivered.

December 2023 — Ukrposhta handed over a donation of UAH 1,000,000 for the restoration of the National Literary and Memorial Museum of H.S. Skovoroda in Kharkiv Oblast.

December 2023 — Over the course of the year, Ukrposhta, together with the KSE Foundation, equipped five shelters for schools with funds collected from the sale of the “PTN PNH!” postage stamp.

December 2023 — Ukrposhta donated UAH 1,500,000 from the sale of the “Patron Dog” postage stamp to support animal shelters