On a chilly autumn morning, business is bustling at a post office just 10 miles (15 km) from the front line in a suburb of Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine. This comes despite ballistic missiles that shook the city at midnight, lighting up the sky with a fiery false dawn.
The branch manager, 30-year-old Yaroslav Dobronos, explains that the customer area is equipped with phone-charging stations and a small co-working space, which people can use during blackouts thanks to generators. There’s also a changing room, where a young woman critically examines a new pair of jeans before repacking and returning them.
Behind the counters, a variety of parcels await pickup, each reflecting the normal yet fragile life of a community near the front. Among them are winter tires, widescreen TVs, boxes of Roshen chocolate, a folding bed, a car bumper, skincare products, a bare-root tree, backpacks, a pram, a vacuum cleaner, a Russell Hobbs multicooker, and Starlink components. One large, bulging package even has a fistful of camouflage netting poking out.
Dobronos notes, “We provide a sense of peaceful life amid the war. In frontline areas, we are the last to leave.”
Ukraine’s main postal service, like its rail network, is a vital and reliable artery—a source of national pride for Ukrainians and amazement for foreign visitors. Nova Poshta, founded 25 years ago, plays a key role in keeping the country functioning amid extreme violence and danger. It’s affordable, costing between £1.50 and £2.20 to send packages of 5kg to 10kg within Ukraine, and connects people across the nation and beyond, including those in the most threatened regions.
“We used to see our jobs as just work,” says Dobronos. “Now we realize how important it is. We offer a bit of peace during the war. In frontline areas, we’re the last to leave and the first to return.”
For instance, after the swift counteroffensive in 2022, Nova Poshta resumed operations in Balakliia, Kharkiv region, on September 12, just four days after liberation. In Kherson, it delivered trucks of humanitarian aid on November 12, the day after Russian forces withdrew. In such cases, the company sets up mobile offices until its buildings are cleared of mines and repaired.
Conversely, when Nova Poshta leaves a place, it signals the breaking of a crucial link to the outside world for a threatened community. This happened in Pokrovsk earlier this year, when the last branch closed as Russian forces advanced. Co-founder Volodymyr Popereshnyuk wrote in a farewell Facebook post on February 18 that the staff had worked in a city with no supermarkets, courts, schools, water, gas, or electricity, relying only on a few small grocery stores and the Nova Poshta office.
Today, Nova Poshta drivers continue to deliver to cities like Kherson, where veh…Vehicles traveling on roads near the front lines are frequently targeted by drones. Workers in these areas are provided with bulletproof vests and helmets for protection.
At a postal branch in a Kharkiv suburb, 31-year-old battalion commander Anton Baev is preparing to send boxes of his girlfriend’s belongings to her new home. She is a military psychologist who was recently reassigned, while Baev remains stationed nearby with his troops. “If I could ship my entire battalion by Nova Poshta, I would,” he jokes.
Using the postal service for moving household items is common in Ukraine. “We handle relocations almost daily, delivering furniture, refrigerators, motorcycles—you name it,” says Yaroslav Dobronos, the branch manager.
The postal service acts as a vital link, delivering comforts from home to soldiers on the front lines. While weapons are banned—”I can’t mail a mortar, as handy as that would be,” Baev remarks—almost anything else is allowed, except for perishable foods and hazardous materials. Parcels sent domestically typically arrive the next day. “My mother sent me a homemade pie, and it reached me at the front,” Baev shares.
Later in the morning, an air raid siren sounds. The branch closes calmly and efficiently, reopening shortly after the alert passes. Such interruptions are routine, and in Kharkiv, there’s a sense of resignation about missile threats. “The border is nearby,” Dobronos explains. “We don’t have much time or hope to react.”
The branch is equipped with two above-ground “capsule” bomb shelters. “During alerts, we close up, and anyone who needs to can wait inside where we keep medical supplies, water, fire extinguishers, and flashlights,” Dobronos says. “We know they work—when Russian drones hit another branch, the capsule shelter held up.”
One of the most sorrowful tasks the staff now faces is sending back the personal effects of fallen soldiers to their families. “It’s always a strange feeling,” Dobronos reflects. “You might have seen them here before, but you never really knew them.”
Throughout the day, small queues form at the counters but dissolve quickly as staff efficiently process parcels. Unlike the slow, orderly lines often seen in UK post offices, this branch aims for zero waiting time and has only missed that goal twice, according to a note on the whiteboard.
At one point, a well-dressed young man opens a small package at the counter to reveal an engagement ring with a glittering stone. He plans to propose to his girlfriend in Paris two weeks later—a world away from the bomb-damaged suburbs. The man, 28-year-old Maksym Kravchenko, works as an anesthetist at a local hospital.
Dobronos points out regular customers, many of whom run businesses that depend on the postal service. Marharyta Klymova, a 24-year-old veterinarian, is receiving materials to repair her damaged clinic. She also regularly gets deliveries of “medications, pills, fluids, catheters, syringes—everything. Without these parcels, we can’t treat the animals,” she says. “I haven’t left Kharkiv even for a day. Business is slowly but steadily improving, and there are many stressed animals here.”
Another customer, 51-year-old Olena Marenych, is returning a hoodie she ordered in the wrong size. “I’m super-happy here in Ukraine,” she says.”Home is better for me, though sometimes it’s scary,” says Maksym Bilous, 33, who runs an online shop selling Starlink parts. “I send them all over, but mostly to the east where fighting is happening; we adapt the equipment and install it in cars.”
Andrii Tomko, 24, is shipping large bales of textiles to Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia for his family’s wholesale fabric business. He has lost parcels a couple of times when a Nova Poshta terminal was hit by a missile and caught fire, but he says he was compensated.
Olena Miroshnyk, 47, runs a small business selling gift hampers and is sending several to customers across Ukraine that day. The full-scale invasion disrupted her plans to open a physical store, so she shifted to an online business. “It’s very difficult. Last night was tough. You invest a lot, take big risks, but what can you do? We moved to Kyiv for six months, then to Poltava for another six, but we decided to return—our own apartment is fine.”
Vita Kramarenko, 53, has also returned to Kharkiv after two years as a refugee in Germany. “I realized Ukrainian services are the best,” she says. “Despite the war, everything works and arrives, shelling or not. European services are a myth.” She is sending a set of curtains and curtain rails to her sister in Spain because they are very expensive to buy there.
Before the full-scale invasion, Nova Poshta operated only within Ukraine and neighboring Moldova. Now, to serve the millions of refugees, it has expanded to 15 more European countries, including Spain and the UK, where it is known as Nova Post.
“Even in these tough times, it’s a chance for us to become a European or global delivery company,” says co-founder Viacheslav Klymov in an interview, noting that they now offer next-day delivery between cities like Warsaw and Berlin.
However, running an efficient postal service during a full-scale invasion is incredibly challenging. “The safety of our customers and staff is the biggest issue,” Klymov explains. Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have also forced the company to invest in becoming “energy independent” by installing generators in local branches and using co-generation plants at large sorting depots. This allows Nova Poshta to keep operating even when cities are without power.
Staffing is another challenge: 4,000 employees, or 10% of the workforce, have been mobilized into the army, according to a company spokeswoman. Tragically, 22 civilian employees have been killed in Russian attacks, and 218 after being drafted into the military.
The mobilization has accelerated automation efforts. At a large sorting depot near Kyiv, 1.5 million parcels are processed daily using automated and robotic systems. Packages are scanned and sorted through a complex network of chutes before being loaded onto trucks for delivery.
Klymov spoke the morning after an attack left much of Kyiv without electricity or water. Nova Poshta had issued a message apologizing for possible delivery delays.Deliveries were delayed because staff had to take shelter in bomb shelters overnight. However, the delay was expected to last only hours, not days, and offices remained open as usual.
“The Ukrainian customer is a unique type,” says Klymov. “They aren’t concerned about attacks or power outages—they just want their delivery to arrive on time.”
A hand-drawn doodle on a cardboard box stacked on a shelf at the Nova Poshta in Kharkiv.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Ukraines postal service operating during the conflict designed to be clear concise and natural
General Beginner Questions
1 What is this about Ukraines postal service delivering unusual items
This refers to how Ukrposhta Ukraines national postal service has continued its operations throughout the war adapting to deliver not just letters and parcels but also essential and unexpected items like car parts and homemade food to people across the country
2 Why is this considered remarkable
Its remarkable because postal services are critical infrastructure often targeted during conflicts Despite the immense danger bans on certain goods and logistical nightmares Ukrposhta has found a way to keep delivering which helps maintain a sense of normalcy and connection
3 What kind of essential items are they delivering
Beyond standard mail they are delivering vital goods like medicine seeds for planting animal feed car parts and even homemade pies and cakes sent by families to loved ones in different regions
4 Is it safe for postal workers to be doing this
It is incredibly dangerous Postal workers risk their lives daily navigating checkpoints damaged roads and the threat of shelling to make their deliveries They are widely regarded as heroes for their dedication
Deeper Advanced Questions
5 How are they able to deliver things like car bumpers Doesnt that violate weapon bans
While there are strict bans on shipping weapons and military equipment civilian goods like car bumpers are not prohibited Ukrposhta carefully adheres to these regulations ensuring that all parcels are legal civilian items which allows them to continue this vital lifeline service
6 What are the biggest logistical challenges they face
The main challenges include destroyed or inaccessible roads and bridges constant security threats frequent power and internet outages affecting tracking systems and the immense difficulty of transporting goods into and out of active combat zones
7 Besides delivering parcels what other role does the postal service play in the war effort
Ukrposhta has become a key pillar of national resilience It delivers pension payments to the elderly operates as a vital banking and money transfer service in areas where banks are closed and has issued patriotic stamps to raise funds for the military boosting national morale
