In Ukraine, a postage stamp depicting a Ukrainian soldier giving the finger to a Russian warship has become a collector’s item. Hundreds of Ukrainians queued for hours at the main post office in Kiev on Friday to obtain copies of the stamp. This had taken on new importance with the sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
However, the backstory of the motif is set in the early days of the war in February. At that time, Ukrainian border guards on the small snake island shouted “Fuck you” to a Russian ship asking them to surrender. The radio message went around the world and became a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance.
In early March, the Post of Ukraine held a contest to commemorate the event. After more than 500 suggestions, the illustration by artist Boris Groh was chosen. It shows a Ukrainian soldier giving the finger to a Russian ship on yellow sand.
First edition already sold out
“When we designed the stamp, we didn’t know how this episode would end, but we are very happy with it,” Ihor Smelyansky, general manager of Ukraine Post, told the French news agency AFP.
The stamp was already sold out in Kiev on Friday afternoon. “We wanted to print more,” Smelyansky said. But Russian air strikes on Kiev “disrupted the operation of the factory and we were unable to print the planned amount”. Now other brands of the one million copies must be produced as soon as possible.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
