The Ukrainian postal service, Ukrposhta, has reported continued attacks on its infrastructure by Russian military forces. Recent strikes have targeted facilities in Sumy and Nikopol, damaging logistics centers and administrative buildings, while also impacting postal vehicles.
During the weekend, Ukrposhta noted that its logistics center and an administrative building in Sumy were affected, although one postal office has resumed operations. The company is currently working on restoring the damaged facilities. In Nikopol, three postal vehicles were reportedly damaged, prompting a decision to relocate the cargo department and depot to a safer location.
Ukrposhta’s General Director, Ihor Smelianskyi, emphasized that the company remains committed to providing full postal services despite the ongoing attacks. He acknowledged that the postal office in the occupied city of Enerhodar has been taken over by Russian Post, following a military operation by Ukrainian forces aimed at evicting unwanted occupants.
“We are observing a targeted campaign against our vehicles in Nikopol, and we are implementing contingency plans to complicate these attacks,” Smelianskyi stated. “We will continue to serve the residents of Nikopol, although there may be changes to service schedules.”
Smelianskyi also highlighted that Ukrposhta is the only company still operating in the frontline city of Bilopillia, collaborating with local authorities and emergency services.
In a broader context, Russian military forces have been conducting regular attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine, utilizing various types of weaponry, including drones and missiles. These assaults have been characterized by Ukrainian authorities and international organizations as war crimes, given their deliberate nature and impact on civilian life.
Attacks on essential services and healthcare facilities are viewed as attempts to deprive the population of electricity, heating, water supply, communication, and medical assistance. Legal experts and human rights advocates have raised concerns that such actions could be classified as genocidal, citing statements from Russian officials that deny the existence of Ukrainians as an ethnic group and call for their elimination.
The 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide obligates member states to prevent and punish acts of genocide both during wartime and in peacetime. The Convention defines genocide as actions aimed at the complete or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
Indicators of genocide include the killing of group members, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about the group’s destruction. Despite these allegations, Russian leadership continues to deny targeting civilian infrastructure and harming non-combatants during the ongoing conflict.
Ukrposhta has reported ongoing attacks on its facilities by Russian forces, affecting logistics and service delivery in various regions. The situation highlights the broader context of military assaults on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine, which have been characterized as war crimes by international observers.