Residents of the islands of Saaremaa (Estonia) and Bornholm (Denmark) bought 5 vehicles at their own cost and filled them with humanitarian aid for the community of Izium district of Kharkiv region, who need help after liberation from the Russian occupation.

The Saaremaa and Bornholm communities fundraised 30,000 euros to purchase the vehicles and humanitarian aid for Ukrainians. Local companies supported the campaign by providing goods and discounts, and part of the funds was collected at a charity Christmas fair organized by Ukrainians who found shelter on Saaremaa during the war. By the end of December, the islanders bought 5 vehicles and loaded them with "light, warmth and hope for Izium": LED bulbs, batteries, radiators, sleeping bags, clothes, thermal underwear, food, stationery, vitamins, computers, printers and much more.

"We found out that Ukrposhta was practically the only company operating there. As post offices have been ruined, people can only get something delivered, especially in rural areas, with the help of mobile post offices," says Jaanika Tiitson, "Help Izium" campaign coordinator on Saaremaa. Therefore, the community of the two islands decided to purchase vehicles and to donate them to Ukrposhta to serve the residents of Izium district.

In January, the 5 vehicles arrived in Ukraine and will soon perform the functions of mobile post offices, delivering pensions and essential goods, and providing postal services in Izium and surrounding villages. Humanitarian aid is being distributed in Izium district, and many residents have already received essential household items: radiators, batteries, LED bulbs, etc.

The communities of both islands, together with the Saaremaa Municipality, plan to continue supporting the residents of Izium in the future.

"Although Ukrposhta has resumed its work in most of the liberated areas of Kharkiv region, the situation is still difficult. The Russians have destroyed 34 and seriously damaged 54 post offices, mobile post offices have also been damaged. Therefore, these 5 vehicles are very timely and necessary. I sincerely thank the residents of Saaremaa and Bornholm for supporting Ukrainians living in Izium district," commented Yurii Savchenko, Director of the Kharkiv Directorate of Ukrposhta.

As a reminder, 313 fixed and 70 mobile post offices are currently operating in Kharkiv region, serving 1,594 settlements. Part of Kharkiv region is still occupied. In Izium and Izium district, Ukrposhta provides postal and logistics services with the help of mobile post offices. Before the war, there were 6 fixed post offices in Izium, but when the city was liberated, none of them could be used: the Russians had deliberately destroyed the infrastructure, including the infrastructure of Ukrposhta. Work has now resumed in two of the post offices in the existing locations, and the city authorities have provided one more space for the third post office. At the same time, Ukrposhta is reconstructing another destroyed post office to create a base point for mobile post offices.

The postal operators of Estonia and Denmark have also been continuously supporting Ukraine. For example, Omniva (the postal operator of Estonia) has sent several tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine collected by its citizens, sent parcels to Ukraine for free, and in March 2022 was one of the first posts to issue a special postage stamp in support of Ukraine.

Postnord (the postal operator of Denmark and Sweden) has sent tens of thousands of parcels with aid to Ukraine and for a period of time suspended postal exchange with Russia and Belarus.