COVER N. 492 - UKRAINE

Postmark: Kyiv 184 Ukraina 04.07.2024

Posted on the 4th July; Received on the 24th July 2024

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Who would have thought that I would get a Russian cover on one day and an Ukrainian cover the day after. I like to view it as another small sign of better times ahead….

That said, I cannot but admire the brave people in places like Kyiv who, amidst all the hardship and the constant threat of a treacherous bomb falling from the sky onto to their houses, still find the courage to carry out their normal day to day tasks, trying to accommodate abnormality and brutality into their lives. They have my utmost respect! 

Дуже дякую; Basil!

As I said yesterday, there are signs that things might be changing for the better.... Ukraine’s Foreign Minister was in China yesterday, there have been statements from both Russia and Ukraine about starting negotiations... a new Peace Conference is on the horizon.... let us hope these signs materialise into something palpable soon.  The sole drones that should fly over cities are those of photographers and skywriters; the sky is for birds, not bombs!

May Peace prevail and the only boots that step onto Ukrainian soil be those of peace loving people of all nations, for those who come in Peace will always be welcomed everywhere.

The Antonov An-178 is a medium transport aircraft, still under development by the Ukrainian Antonov Company.

Powered by two Progress D-436-148FM Turbofan engines, it has a range of 3,680km and  can accommodate 90 soldiers, for a maximum payload of 28 tons .

It can also be developed as a platform for  missions in the fields of military or civil transport, Search and Rescue, medical and purpose emergency situations.

The first flight took place on May the 7th, 2015.

On  11AUG2017,  Ukrposhta  issued a two stamp set (3 and 5.40 hryvnia) in the series dedicated to Military Equipment of the Ukrainian Defence Industry - Ukroboronprom. The 5.40 stamp depicting the Antonov An-178, was used on the cover.

On 28JUN2022, the "U" tariff stamp with a painting by a young artist featured on the cover was issued. The Russian invasion of Ukraine having taken place on the 25th March, the painting is an obvious call for peace and for Ukraine pride wherein several aircraft fly against a starry sky. One of them, decorated with flowers, is carrying a female figure which can be a child or a woman or even an angel, while the An-225 Mriya (dream) the largest aircraft ever operational, which was destroyed in its hangar  by the Russian aggressors in the first days of the war,  flies in its company, leaving Ukrainian flag tinted contrails in the sky.

The ennvelope for the cover is the official envelope for this stamp issue, being illustrated with the same artwork.

Tariff "T" stamp. part of the definitive series dedicated to the traditional hand painted Pysanka Easter eggs. Illustrated with an egg from Hutsulshchyna, this stamp was issued on 21APR2023.

Part of the definitive series dedicated to coats of arms of the cities of Ukraine, the "F" tariff stamp with the coat of arms of Kremenchuk, was issued on 29SEO2021.

Basil included this nice postcard in its cover, dedicated to the cities of Ukraine, although I can only Identify on it Kiyv, by the famous Monument of Independence, which is central to the illustration.