Russian Warship Stamp Becomes Collector's Item

 

On April 12, 2022, Ukrposhta presented and put into circulation the first in martial law conditions postage stamps with a “Russian warship, go…!” slogan. This phrase is the response of Ukrainian border guards, defenders of Zmiinyi Island, to the Russian’s ship offer to surrender on the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It became a symbol of courage and indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russia. Unfortunately, the legendary phrase was censored for official postal products.

In Kyiv, a special cancellation with the First Day marking took place at the Main Post Office with the participation of Ukrposhta Director General Ihor Smilianskyi and the author of the phrase, the defender of Zmiinyi Island Roman Hrybov. At the same time, cancellations of special stamps “Russian warship, go…!” took place in all regions of Ukraine.

Crimean Borys Grokh, the author of the sketch of the First Day postage stamp and envelope and the winner of the people’s contest for the best postage stamp sketch, took part in the special cancellation ceremony in Lviv. Borys’s work garnered the most votes, with 8,000 Facebook and Instagram users voting for it. Until 2014, Boris lived in Evpatoria. After the occupation of Crimea, he was forced to move to Lviv.

“Ukrainian philately during the war is a reflection of the events happening to our state and our people. The phrase that inspired us to create a postage stamp has already become a symbol of the invincibility of the Armed Forces, volunteers, Territorial Defense, all Ukrainians in the struggle for their land and independence of Ukraine. I am sure that both Ukrainians and our friends from abroad will be happy to receive letters with such a postage stamp. And today, in such a postal way, we once again remind the occupiers that they should immediately leave our land and follow their ship, “said Ukrposhta General Director Ihor Smilianskyi.

Postage stamp “Russian warship, go…!” issued by Ukrposhta in two denominations – to pay for postal items in Ukraine (face value F, equivalent to UAH 23) and to pay for items sent abroad (face value W, equivalent to US $ 1.5). The corresponding First Day envelope was issued for the stamp in 20 thousand copies.

Buy postage stamps “Russian warship, go…!” available in Ukrposhta branches and in the philatelic online store.

Currently, philatelists from around the world seem to have almost overloaded the online store of Ukrposhta, it works very slowly.

Source : Mezha

A "Russian warship, f***k you...!" postage stamp was officially introduced and a million entered into circulation, the Ukrainian postal service Ukrposhta announced on Tuesday.

The stamp's illustration features an armed and armored Ukrainian soldier with his middle finger raised to a Russian vessel. The background, the yellow ground and blue ocean, evoke the Ukrainian flag.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posed with a stamp book of the new stamps on Wednesday, and wrote that the phrase, "which became a symbol of the steadfastness of Ukrainian defenders, is now on postage stamps."

KYIV, UKRAINE — 

A stamp depicting a Ukrainian soldier making an obscene hand gesture at the Russian Black Sea flagship Moskva has become a collector's item for Ukrainians who see it as a sign of victory.

At the central post office in the capital, Kyiv, hundreds of Ukrainians of every age queued for hours on Friday to get their hands on one of the 1 million copies printed so far.

"That ship was the biggest one they had. … They gambled a lot on it, and we destroyed it!" said Yury Kolesan, 22, who waited for 2½ hours to get a set of 30 stamps. "It's a new phase of the war, one of victory!"

The warship sank on Thursday after an explosion and fire that Ukraine claimed was caused by a missile strike, a claim backed by one U.S. defence official on Friday. Russia said the damage was caused by an explosion of munitions on board.

The missile cruiser gained publicity in the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine when its crew called on a unit of Ukrainian border guards to surrender, only for them to defiantly refuse.

Ukrainian postal service chief Igor Smelyansky holds postage stamps showing a Ukrainian service member's gesture toward a Russian warship at postal service headquarters in Kyiv, April 14, 2022.

The incident quickly became a symbol of Ukraine's resistance against Russia's assault. Ukraine's postal service last month launched a competition to illustrate the episode.

Out of more than 500 submissions, Lviv designer Boris Groh's winning entry shows a Ukrainian soldier from behind making the obscene gesture at the warship.It has proved a hit, selling out in many post offices and quickly appearing for resale online.

"We wanted to print more but the bombing last night in Kyiv affected the work of the factory and we did not manage to print the necessary quantity," Ukrainian postal service chief Igor Smelyansky told AFP.

Source : UKRPOSTA