In Kyiv, in the main operations hall of Ukrposhta’s Central Post Office, a special stamp commemorating the 455th anniversary of Bakhmut’s founding was officially canceled.
The stamp was ceremonially canceled by Oleksiy Reva, head of the Bakhmut City Military Administration, and Ihor Smilianskyi, CEO of JSC “Ukrposhta,” in the presence of Bakhmut residents, students, and members of the public.
At the center of the stamp’s design is a stele at the entrance to Bakhmut. Next to it are two iconic historical buildings: the former zemstvo administration building, above which the blue-and-yellow flag was raised for the first time in the Donetsk region in 1917, and St. Nicholas Church. Both are part of the community’s cultural heritage and the city’s centuries-old history. For many locals, these are also places familiar from childhood, linked to personal memories.
Participants reminisced about Bakhmut’s past and spoke about the importance of preserving its history for future generations. After all, children and grandchildren need to know the city where their relatives grew up, worked, and built their lives.
Ihor Smiliansky spoke about the Bakhmut postal workers who continued to work under extremely difficult conditions in the war-torn city. And when discussing the future, he expressed a wish shared by the people of Bakhmut—to return to a peaceful, rebuilt Bakhmut.
Among the guests were philatelists, who added a special vibrancy to the event. After the stamp was canceled, they held out envelopes, asked for autographs, and took the stamps for their own collections. It was nice to see this interest and to know that from now on, a memento of Bakhmut’s 455th anniversary will be preserved in someone’s collection.
Based on materials from the Bakhmut City Council
