Ukrposhta recognized as the best postal operator in the world in 2022
On June 14th, in Tallinn, Ukrposhta received three honorary awards at the "World Post & Parcel Awards 2023": "Postal Operator," "Philatelic Campaign of the Year," and the special category of "Industry Leader".
This information was reported on the Post&Parcel website.
"In 2022, Ukrposhta demonstrated how a postal operator can work under conditions of war, continuous shelling, and power outages, while developing exports through closed airspace to support Ukrainian entrepreneurs (Ukrposhta resumed export shipments a week after the start of the full-scale invasion) and implementing state social projects, business relocation, pension and financial aid delivery from international organizations, and delivery of humanitarian aid from abroad. It is worth noting that despite significant losses (Ukrposhta lost $55 million in assets due to the war), the company did not incur operational losses, and Ukrposhta only suspended operations for one day on February 24," the statement said.
The victory in the "Philatelic Campaign of the Year" category was achieved by the stamp "Русский корабль, иди нахуй" ("Russian Ship F**k Off", which became the most famous stamp in the world.
"On March 1, just four days after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, instead of celebrating the 30th anniversary of Ukrainian modern postage stamps, Ukrposhta announced a design competition for a stamp with the phrase "Russian Ship F**k Off!" symbolizing Ukraine's struggle against aggressors.
On March 8, a social media voting campaign began, with over 7,000 participants. After 43 days, on April 12, Ukrposhta released the stamp into circulation with a print run of 1,000,000 (eight times higher than the average print run of art stamps in the last 25 years). Two days later, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed the Russian cruiser 'Moscow,' depicted on the stamp.
The next day, the demand for the stamp sharply increased, and Ukrposhta had to impose restrictions on the number of stamps sold per person. Ukrposhta launched sales in its updated online store and internal marketplaces, and opened official stores on Amazon and eBay.
The 'Russian Ship F**k Off!' stamp became the most expensive and highly demanded modern postage stamp, heralding a new era of Ukrainian philately – the era of prosperity," the article says.
Igor Smiliansky, the CEO of Ukrposhta, noted that 2022 was a year of difficult trials and challenges for the company and the whole country.
"Ukrposhta did not cease its operations despite the full-scale war, difficult and dangerous working conditions, shelling, blackouts, destroyed and damaged branches, and shot-up vehicles. Our heroic employees risk their lives every day, traveling to the front-line territories to ensure that our people there feel supported and have everything they need.
These awards are an indisputable merit of the team and an example of resilience for the entire postal world. I am proud of everyone," he commented on the nominations' victory.
It is worth mentioning that last time Ukrposhta has won this prestigious award was "World Post & Parcel Awards 2019" in two categories: "Postal Technologies for e-commerce" and "Socially Responsible Programs."