A postal stamp depicting a Ukrainian tractor towing away a Russian tank is the newest postage issued by the Ukrainian national postal service (Ukrposhta), the service announced on Wednesday.
"A tractor pulling a tank is an iconic story of the Ukrainian resistance against Russia," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. "[Ukrposhta] has commemorated it with a new postage stamp."
A tractor pulling a tank is an iconic story of the #Ukrainian resistance against #Russia. @ukrposhta has commemorated it with a new postage stamp. What kind of message would you dream to receive from Ukraine? pic.twitter.com/g4C3NAZt0R
— MFA of Ukraine (@MFA_Ukraine) June 15, 2022
The stamp, called "Good evening, we are from Ukraine!" depicts a tank hauling a Russian tank in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Like previous wartime stamp campaigns, Ukrposhta allowed the public to vote on the subjects and artwork to be used on the stamp. Ukrposhta said that more than 340,000 people voted for the winning sketch.
The stamp will be issued in July, with 5 million stamps entering circulation.
"A tractor pulling a tank is an iconic story of the Ukrainian resistance against Russia."
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
Ukrainian tractor brigades
Ukrainian tractors have become a symbol of civilian resistance against the Russian invasion and have also been used to advocate for more actions by civilians to impede the Russian advance.
Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Oscars 2022Best Supporting Actor: Ukrainian Tractor in The Taming of the Shrew#Oscars2022 #UAarmy pic.twitter.com/f3LEZ9VATO
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 28, 2022
The abandoned vehicles have reportedly been repurposed by the Ukrainian military and farmers.
"Russian warship, F**k you!"
The issuing of the tractor stamps by Ukrposhta comes after the success of another wartime symbol in postage form — the "Russian warship, F**k you!" stamps issued on April 12.
"Things like this brand are first and foremost symbols that help us believe in our victory – that we will definitely win this war, and the occupier will go to the bottom."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
The stamp's illustration features an armed and armored Ukrainian soldier with his middle finger raised to the Russian Moskva vessel, a reference to the Snake Island incident early in the war. The background, the yellow ground and blue ocean, evoke the Ukrainian flag.
The "Russian warship, f**k you...!" stamp has effectively been used as a fundraiser by the Ukrainian postal service, raising millions of Ukrainian hryvnias with auctions and direct sales — Including branded content such as post-cards and T-shirts. Much of the funds raised have been donated to the Ukrainian military.
"Things like this brand are first and foremost symbols that help us believe in our victory – that we will definitely win this war, and the occupier will go to the bottom," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in late May at a ceremony launching the stamp's circulation for international use. "People's interest in these brands is proof of that. I am convinced that we will have many more such symbols of victory."
The defiance of Ukrainian forces at Snake Island, and the subsequent sinking of the Moskva Black Sea Fleet flagship, have become part of the Ukrainian national mythos surrounding the Russia-Ukraine War. In May, Lithuania issued a Turkish TB2 Bayraktar drone stamp to raise funds for Ukraine. The drone has reportedly been used to great effect during the war against Russian forces, and has also become symbolic of the Ukrainian war effort.
The pro-Russian "denazification"
Pro-Russian separatists have since developed their own wartime stamps. The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) postal service issued a new stamp and postcard at the end of May that supported the "denazification" of Ukraine, Russian state media outlet TASS reported.
The stamp, entitled "The Decline of Nazism," shows the emblem of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi Azov Battalion's logo crossed out, and the Azovstal steel plant in the background, according to TASS.
Azovstal was the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the port city of Mariupol, which fell under Russian siege.
TASS reported that the stamp also features a prominent letter "Z" — a Russian military distinguishing sign that has become a pro-Russian symbol for the country's invasion of Ukraine.