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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Charlotte Higgins and Mariana Matveichuk in Kharkiv and Kyiv. Photographs by Julia Kochetova

Next day delivery, no weapons allowed: the unstoppable postal service keeping Ukraine going

A composite image showing postal workers and customers with packages against a background of a damaged former postal office
Ukraine’s main postal service is one of the country’s most vital networks and a matter of national pride for Ukrainians. Illustration: Julia Kochetova/Guardian pictures

In a post office 10 miles (15km) from Ukraine’s frontline, in a suburb of the eastern city of Kharkiv, business is brisk on a chilly autumn morning – despite the ballistic missiles that had shaken the city at midnight, lighting up the sky with a false dawn of flames.

The customer area is fitted out with phone-charging stations “and a small co-working space, which people can use during blackouts, since we have generators”, says the branch manager, 30-year-old Yaroslav Dobronos. There is also a changing room, in which a young woman is trying on, with a critical gaze, a new pair of jeans, before repacking them and sending them straight back.

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