Down in the packed central hall, I talked to Nataliia Tkachenko, who said she managed to buy stamps on the first day they were released. “It’s a symbol. It shows our inner patriotism. I feel this,” she added. “Snake Island didn’t surrender. I’m not going to surrender. Nor is my husband. Take a look at the queue. The stamp is a bit of paper. It may be small but it’s powerful, just like Ukraine.” On my way out, I also spoke to Viktor Fyodorovych, a Kharkiv pensioner who was buying stamps for his relatives. They were stuck in a bomb shelter, he told me, and couldn’t venture out. “I’m sixty-three
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