Postage Sheet "City of Heroes. Mariupol" + card 2025

Ukrposhta has officially put into circulation a new postage stamp "City of Heroes. Mariupol" dedicated to the anniversary of the tragedy in the city of Mariupol. This issue continues the series of stamps honoring the heroic cities of Ukraine that demonstrated extraordinary courage and resilience in the struggle for independence.

Mariupol is a city that has become a symbol of invincibility, having received the honorary title of “Hero City of Ukraine”, established by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on March 6, 2022. Since May 2022, the city has been under temporary occupation, but its spirit remains unshaken.

The special feature of this issue is the unique coating of the stamps with particles of steel produced at Metinvest Group's Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. After the start of Russia's full-scale aggression, Azovstal turned from a plant into a fortress that became the last line of defense for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city. The courage, bravery and steadfastness of Mariupol's defenders have become an example for millions of Ukrainians, and the last steel from Azovstal has become a symbol for the country. It is this steel from the last products of Azovstal's shop, manufactured before the aggressor's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, that has become an addition to the unique “steel” stamp. And thanks to Ukrposhta's cooperation with Cartor Security Printers (France), a leading global printing services company, it became possible to apply steel to postal miniatures using thermography technology.

The main image of the Ukrposhta postal issue "City of Heroes. Mariupol" is the building of the Drama Theater, where about a thousand civilians were hiding from shelling, and on which the Russian invaders dropped two super-powerful bombs on March 16, 2022.  The artist of the stamp and postal block, Oleh Shupliak, depicted the theater building before and after the Russian strike as a reminder of the occupiers' grave crime against the peaceful Ukrainian city. In addition to the stamp, along with the issue, Ukrposhta also presented an artistic envelope “The First Day” and a card by Victoria Anikienko, which also depicts the destroyed building of the Mariupol Drama Theater and a little girl next to it holding a white rabbit. This image is also very symbolic, because it was near the building of the destroyed theater that the inscription “Children” (in Russian) was written in full length, indicating that children were in the building. But this sign did not stop the Russians. The postal issue also included an unmarked artistic envelope with a photograph of Mariupol artist Yevhen Sosnovsky. The inscription on the photo is very eloquent and does not require any special interpretation, as it reads “Let the Kremlin animal realize that Mariupol is Ukraine.”

The postal set includes:

• stamp sheet "Cities of Heroes. Mariupol"
• a card

Country - Ukraine
Release Date - 03/14/2025
The circulation - 100 000
Stamp № 2152
Artist Oleg Shuplyak
Minisheet size -  143х101 mm
Number of stamps in the minisheet -  4 stamps