Booklet with stamps "Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine! Territorial Defense Forces" 2022

February–March 2022. These were days that changed Ukraine forever.

In the first weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, thousands of ordinary Ukrainians made an extraordinary choice. Men and women from towns and cities across the country left their familiar lives behind and headed to military enlistment offices to join the Territorial Defence Forces.

They came with tourist backpacks packed with the bare essentials, often not knowing what awaited them or whether they would ever return home. They were entrepreneurs, bakers, doctors, teachers, artists, programmers, hairdressers, and people of countless other professions. Many had never held a weapon in their hands, let alone imagined themselves on the front line.

They were not professional soldiers. They were civilians who understood that their homes, families, cities, and country were in danger. Some knew, deep inside, that saying goodbye to their loved ones might be forever. Yet they went.

At that time, no one among the civilian population could fully imagine what this war would become, how long it would last, or how profoundly it would transform every Ukrainian life. There was fear, uncertainty, confusion, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. But there was also something extraordinary: solidarity, courage, determination, and an unshakable desire to defend their homeland.

The first Territorial Defence units brought together people who had been living completely different lives just days before. A programmer stood beside a baker, a businessman beside a musician, a doctor beside a construction worker. They learned to become a team, to rely on one another, and to defend the places they called home.

Today, Ukraine has a battle-tested, highly professional army. But in February and March 2022, the defence of the country was also built by ordinary people who had to learn military skills almost from scratch. People who became soldiers because their country needed them.

Those first weeks were a time of extraordinary heroism and a powerful awakening of the Ukrainian spirit. A time when thousands of ordinary citizens showed that the will to defend freedom could be stronger than fear.

This stamp booklet is a tribute to the first Ukrainian Territorial Defence volunteers — the people who put down their everyday lives, picked up their backpacks, and stood up for Ukraine.

Their courage became part of our history. Glory to the heroes! Glory to Ukraine!

The booklet contains a "Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine" stamp sheet, a First Day Cover with a special cancellation, an artistic postcard featuring the "Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," and an unfranked artistic envelope also featuring the "Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine." The booklet includes a description of the issue in both Ukrainian and English.

Characteristics:
 
Issue date (year) - 2022
The size is 220*335 mm
Circulation - 1500