The winning sketch for the Christmas postage stamp was created by an eleventh-grader from frontline Mykolaiv

08.11.2022

According to the results of the people's online voting, which took place on the official pages of Ukrposhta on Facebook and Instagram, as well as in the Telegram channel of the CEO of Ukrposhta, the winner among the 5 sketches submitted for the final voting was the drawing No.4. The composition depicts a girl and a soldier: they were separated by a full-scale war brought to our land by a terrorist country. The girl celebrates the holiday alone, the guy - on the battlefield. Mentally they are close and each dreams of meeting after the Victory. More than 15.5 thousand Ukrainians voted for this sketch.

The second place, with 12 180 thousand votes, was taken by the sketch "Carolers and Ukrainian warrior" by the Honored Artist of Ukraine Oleksandr Okhapkin, who works in the field of icon painting. The third place with 9 442 votes was taken by the sketch No.3 "Happiness is to be together" by Iryna Babenko.

"The issue of Christmas stamps is a tradition at Ukrposhta, so we continue this good custom to give Ukrainians a festive atmosphere. This year it is extremely important to keep in touch with relatives, with those who are far away, with those who are at the front. Ukrposhta will make every effort to ensure that each addressee receives a letter, gift, parcel in a timely manner. After all, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, we especially want to feel connected with our loved ones and believe in miracles," commented Igor Smelyansky, CEO of Ukrposhta.

According to international organizations, since the beginning of the war almost half of Ukrainians had to be temporarily separated from their relatives and friends, millions of people were forced to leave their homes. The cruel war has separated families: many women and children left Ukraine, and men took up arms and have been fighting for the truth, the right to their native land and life for nine months. However, in the midst of military events and difficult circumstances, the main thing is not to lose the most important thing - faith in the Victory.

The author of the winning sketch is Valeria Mikhailova from Mykolaiv. Valeria studies in the 11th grade, she has been fond of drawing since childhood. According to the girl, it has always been her favorite pastime. Valeriia began to seriously study and delve into the artistic craft about three years ago. Her mentor was a famous Ukrainian artist, illustrator, teacher Merkulov Valentyn Mykolaiovych. Now Valeria is mastering different artistic trends and styles.

With the beginning of the full-scale war Valeria was forced to leave her city, which was on the front line and constantly under Russian bombardment. Now the girl is abroad, it was there that Valeria was inspired to create the sketch.

"This illustration reflects the difficulties that separation from family and loved ones brings. The war divided many families. Someone had to leave their hometown, someone went abroad, and someone is defending our country right now. Thanks to them, our defenders, we have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and New Year", - commented Valeria Mikhailova.

Throughout their existence, postage stamps have been visualizing historical events and have become a platform where important events for the country are depicted and recorded. This year's winter holidays will acquire radically different values and meanings for us. Ukrainian military will celebrate them on the frontlines, defending our territories from the Russian invader, and other Ukrainians, wherever they are, will make common wishes - victory, peace and prosperity of Ukraine.

The Christmas stamp will be issued by Ukrposhta in December. The winning sketch, which will become the basis for the holiday stamp, is planned to be finalized taking into account the comments and suggestions of the voting participants.