As of June 30, Ukrposhta suspended operations at its last stationary branch in Druzhkivka in Donetsk region. The company's general director Igor Smilyanskyy wrote that the decision was actually made a week earlier — and only now was disclosed publicly.
«We held on there as long as it was somehow possible without significant risk to employees and customers, but recently this limit has already been exceeded».
Igor Smilyanskyy, General Director of Ukrposhta
What kind of city is it and why does this matter
Druzhkivka is less than 20 km from Kramatorsk. Before the full-scale invasion, approximately 56,000 people lived here. As of June 2025, the city has between 3,000 and 4,000 residents remaining — all children have been evacuated. The city is hit daily by FPV drones, guided aerial bombs, and artillery; civilian casualties have been recorded.
The closure of a post office branch is not a humanitarian catastrophe in itself, but a precise indicator: when the postal service leaves, it means it's no longer possible to maintain staff there even with minimal risk.
What those who remained will receive
- The nearest stationary branches are in Krasnatorka and Kramatorsk.
- Pensions, social benefits, and government assistance are transferred via postal money orders — they can be received at any Ukrposhta branch throughout the country.
- The company's mobile branches continue operating near the front line.
Smilyanskyy emphasized that Ukrposhta is not permanently leaving Druzhkivka and will return to cities after the situation stabilizes — as has happened before in other settlements.
Questions without answers
The 3,000–4,000 people who remain in the city under constant shelling are predominantly elderly people without the ability or desire to evacuate. For them, «getting payments in Kramatorsk» means finding transportation and leaving a city that is shelled daily. If shelling in the Kramatorsk direction intensifies — will even this option remain viable?
