Ukraine Post Still Delivering Despite Russian Bombs

According to various sources, the Ukraine Post service Ukrposhta is still operating as close to normal as possible within Ukraine despite the continued bombing of cities across the country by the Russian forces.

In the five weeks since the war began, over four million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, and another 6.5 million are displaced, leaving three-quarters of the country’s population, including many poor and elderly, within the country.

The Times of London has reported that there are more than 50,000 Ukraine post workers, risking their lives to deliver letters, packages, and, most importantly, pensions to people across the country, picking their way through bombed-out streets and battered apartment buildings to reach the most vulnerable residents of their communities. As many Ukrainian men have taken up arms and joined the resistance force against the Russian invasion, the vast majority of Ukraine post workers are now women, risking their lives to deliver the nation’s post.

“We understood that if we don’t deliver the pensions, these people will be without means to survive,”

“If people see that the post is working, they can order packages on the internet…I think it’s important to maintain that: even small pieces of normal life.”

Igor Smilyansky, General Director, Ukrposhta,

Ukraine Post Prioritizing Pensions

Ukrposhta has delivered 85 percent of the country’s pensions. Some of which have had to be smuggled to territories occupied by Russia via secret paths through forests according to Smilyansky.

Due to this, postal workers heading to towns on or near the front line are having to wear bulletproof vests and helmets. Some towns such as Mariupol which have experienced extensive bombing and shelling cannot be reached by Ukrposhta at this time.

As for the international post, Ukrposhta has re-routed the nation’s exports from a logistics hub in Kyiv to Lviv in the west, where they are then shipped to Poland, in an effort for Ukrainian businesses to survive. However, delays are expected due to the increased travel time and disrupted air travel in the region.

For the most recent update on imports and exports to and from Ukraine, you can check their page here.

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