12 September 2026
(PHOTO: Georgy Reshetilov)
<span><span><span><span><span><span>On City Day in Mykolaiv, a special cancellation was held for a commemorative postage block. It was dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the local zoo.</span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span><span><span><span>This was announced by Georgiy Reshetilov, head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span><span><span><span>The illustrations for the stamp issue were created by Viktor Garkusha, a serviceman in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He depicted a Rothschild’s giraffe, a maned wolf, a polar bear, a Cape hyrax, and a snow leopard on the stamps.</span></span></span></span></span></span>
Viktor Garkusha (call sign “Picasso”) is a Ukrainian artist, illustrator, and soldier known for his distinctive, detailed style in the genres of fantasy and fairy-tale illustration. He is the author of the visual design for many Ukrainian book publications, including the fairy tale “The Prince and the Iron Wolf” published by “A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA.”
<span><span><span><span><span><span>A special cancellation of a postage block is a ceremonial procedure for putting new stamps into circulation using a unique postmark made specifically for a particular event. During the event, this postmark is applied to a souvenir sheet containing several stamps. After the procedure is completed, the special postmark is withdrawn from circulation, and the issues themselves become collector’s items for philatelists.</span></span></span></span></span></span>
Earlier,the Mykolaiv Zoo shared the story of the Shetland ponies Valeta and Poniasha, who were evacuated in 2022 from the village of Posad-Pokrovske in the Kherson region due to constant Russian shelling.
Юлія Калабайда