Delivering Mail on Ukraine’s Front Line

Larysa Navrotska is part of a quiet, but brave army of postal workers connecting remote Ukrainian communities close to the battlefield with the outside world. Working for the national postal service in eastern Ukraine often means entering dangerous frontline areas where drones dominate and cause the vast majority of this war’s casualties. Theirs is a dangerous job. In four years of war, Russian attacks have damaged or completely destroyed more than 500 Ukrainian post offices. Ukrposhta says delivery trucks like Larysa’s are also targeted because they carry things such as drone parts to frontline troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At least nine postal workers have been killed on the job. Larysa and her driver, Vitalii, typically serve roughly 6,500 people each month. Today, they are visiting three villages. Their most loyal customers are retirees awaiting their monthly check. Larysa delivers more than just mail. She brings income and also groceries, medicines, the news and a familiar face to chat with for those living in isolation. This hub in Larysa’s hometown is the last brick-and-mortar postal branch on the road to the front. When jobs were scarce after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Larysa came to this very post office hoping to find work. Now married and with a son, she’s remained in Vasylkivka, doing nearly every postal job there is — courier, clerk, cashier, and unofficially, the office cheerleader, keeping up morale. Many here take pride in the essential service they’re providing, but they also want to be compensated for the risks they take. And today, they have the opportunity to make the point. Their boss, the head of Ukrposhta, has come for a visit. The war has also put a premium on food delivery in some villages. After receiving their pensions, some residents even give what little they have back to the postal workers so they can donate it to the war effort. It’s the community that has kept Larysa on the road all these years.