Bombay Durpun - Russian warship stamp becomes collector's item in Ukraine

At the central post office in the capital Kyiv, hundreds of Ukrainians of every age could be seen queueing for hours on Friday to get their hands on one of the one million copies printed so far.

"That ship was the biggest one they had.... They gambled a lot on it and we destroyed it!" said Yury Kolesan, 22, who waited for two-and-a-half hours to get a set of 30 stamps.

"It's a new phase of the war, one of victory!"

The warship sank on Thursday after an explosion and fire that Ukraine claimed was caused by a missile strike -- while Russia said the damage was caused by an explosion of munitions on board.

The missile cruiser gained notoriety in the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine when its crew called on a unit of Ukrainian border guards to surrender, only for them to defiantly refuse.

The incident quickly became a symbol of Ukraine's resistance against Russia's assault.

Ukraine's postal service last month launched a competition to illustrate the episode.

Out of more than 500 submissions, Lviv designer Boris Groh's winning entry shows a Ukrainian soldier from behind swearing at the warship.

It has proved a hit, selling out in many post offices and quickly appearing for resale online.

"We wanted to print more but the bombing last night in Kyiv affected the work of the factory and we did not manage to print the necessary quantity," Ukrainian postal service Igor Smelyansky told AFP.

A.Zacharia--BD