Post of Donbass

Description

The state-owned company was created on December 9, 2014 in Donetsk by an edict of the DPR Head Alexander Zakharchenko on the basis of the Ukrainian state company Ukrposhta — on that date the first five post offices commenced operations. Сreation of the structure was necessitated by termination of Ukrposhta operations in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts of Ukraine not controlled by Kiev.

The DPR Ministry of Communications oversees the Post of Donbass operations. The CEO of the state-owned enterprise is Yevgeny Kovnatsky. After establishing on March 23, 2015 of mail service between self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, the Post of Donbass united postal services of both DPR and LPR.

As of March 2015, there were 20 post offices of the company in DPR and 21 post offices in LPR. Victor Yatsenko, DPR Minister of Communications told in October 2015 that the Post of Donbass had 196 post offices in the two People's Republics.

Activities

Since DPR and LPR are not recognized, the company is not a member of the Universal Postal Union. It uses postage stamps issued by Ukrposhta, with its own cancels. Mail is temporarily accepted only at the mail operator's post offices; letters are not collected from the letter boxes.

On December 30, 2014, December post-retirement benefits were paid to disabled persons residing in the DPR, through the Post of Donbass post offices. Starting from April 2015, an edict of the DPR's Head officially made the Post of Donbass, together with the DPR's Central Republican Bank, responsible for regular payment of pensions and benefits to the population. For example, in June 2015 the DPR's elderly were paid via this postal system over RUB 1,000,000,000, and in July about RUB 2,000,000,000. In addition, starting from August 2015, the Post of Donbass' post offices are entrusted with distribution of SIM cards of the DPR's mobile operator Phoenix.

From the end of 2015 it is possible to send a letter/postcard/small parcel up to 5 kg worldwide to and from DPR. From any country sender must use "postal gate" in nearest Russian big village Kuybishevo, center of municipal district of Rostov Oblast.

Sender should fill the "Recipient Name" field as Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, 283000, Artjema str, 50, apt 25, +380660721234, and "Recipient Address" field as 346940, RUSSIA, Rostovskaya oblast, Kuybishevo, box 12. (Box #12 is rented for all post-traffic of DPR)
Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich - name of recipient in DPR
283000 - ZIP-code in DPR
Artjema str, 50, apt 25 - part of address of recipient in DPR
+380660721234 - mobile number of recipient in DPR (it is must).
Neither name of town in DPR, nor "DPR"-acronym must be filled.

Postage stamps

Preparations for issue of own stamps were underway since March 2015, and by May 9 the first such stamp was issued in DPR and LPR[К 1] depicting "DPR soldiers Arseny Pavlov and Mikhail Tolstykh better known by the population as "Givi" and "Motorola"."

On September 8, 2015, a stamp commemorating the Donbass Liberation Day was issued in Donetsk. A ceremonial special cancellation was also held.

The Post of Donbass issued a series of seven definitive stamps in 2015 depicting coats of arms of DPR's cities and towns. The last, seventh, stamp appeared on December 17, 2015. The 24-ruble stamp depicted smaller coat of arms of the Donetsk People's Republic's capital, Donetsk. The preceding stamps of the series presented coats of arms of Gorlovka, Shakhtersk, Dokuchaevsk, Debaltsevo, Yenakievo and Ilovaysk. A special cancellation was held on the occasion of the issue of each stamp in the corresponding town.

Ukrposhta's position

Acting General Director of Ukrposhta Ihor Tkachuk told in August 2015 to Forbes Ukraine:

Nevertheless, as of autumn 2015, Ukrainian postage stamps were on sale at the Central Post Office of Donetsk for Russian rubles. Meanwhile, post office employees warned that letters, wrappers and parcels franked with those stamps could be sent only in the territory of Ukraine, and DPR had its own stamps.