Meet the postal workers risking their lives to keep up deliveries on Ukraine’s frontline

The city of Chasiv Yar, just a few kilometres from Bakhmut, has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting on Ukraine’s frontline. 

While the war has changed everything, locals have persisted and tried to resume their day-to-day activities as normal – and that’s exactly what the postal service has had to do.

Traditional mail vans delivering letters and parcels have been replaced by armoured vehicles accompanied by soldiers. It’s too dangerous to deliver to individual houses. Instead, people have to take the risk of approaching the armoured vans to collect their mail and other supplies such as food.

Ana has worked for Bakhmut’s postal service for 15 years. She said she could have never imagined needing to wear a bulletproof vest to work, as she does now. 

“Everyone’s fighting on their own front now. And ours is here,” explained Ana.

“I can’t say we’re not scared. I’m scared, too… You’re scared, but you already know [when danger] is far away or close. When it’s close, we get in our cars and we’re gone.”

But at least residents are grateful for the risks the workers take to deliver their mail.

“We are of course pleased,” said Anatoliy, a Chasiv Yar resident, “They bring us food, they bring us money.”

“They’re coming to a place like this!” added Zinaida, another resident. “They must be brave to come here. They’re brave, they are brave girls.”

The tragedy is that while deliveries are continuing, more infrastructure and homes are falling victim to shelling and as a consequence, the number of residents living in the area is going down.