"And there will be spring!" is a new issue that marked the 2nd anniversary of the full Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2014 with the illegal armed occupation of parts of the Donbas and Crimea.

Stamp Block of 4 stamps

This issue uses 4 iconic photographs over the last decade, all of which received awards.

"Seizure of the Belbek Airport. Sevastopol, 2014" is a commemorative photograph of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine in 2014 with the occupation of Crimea. The photo capturing the episode of the seizure of the Belbek airport in Sevastopol was taken by the Polish photographer Kuba Kaminsky/PAP, who miraculously managed to hide the image from the Russian invaders, so that the whole world could see it.

"Love Can't Be Stopped! Kharkiv, 2022" by Sergey Bobok/AFP immortalizes a fragile moment of love: volunteer medics at a wedding photo shoot in the courtyard of a building destroyed by Russian missiles in Kharkiv in the spring of 2022.

"Light Will Win! Azovstal. Mariupol, 2022" features a warrior in the sunshine at Azovstal, a legendary self-portrait taken by a defender with the call sign "Orest", Dmytro Kozatski in May 2022 during the heroic defense of the Mariupol "fortress".

"Hands of an Infantryman. Bakhmut, 2023" features a photo of an infantryman of the 28th Brigade with the call sign "Snowball", taken by Maxim Dondyuk a few hundred meters from enemy trenches on the outskirts of Bakhmut in March 2023.

The photos reproduced on the postage stamps have won prestigious awards: "Seizure of the Belbek Airport" won first place in the Grand Press Photo 2014 competition; "Light Will Win!" and "Love Can't Be Stopped!" were included in The Guardian list of the best photos of 2022; "Hands of an Infantryman" was included in the selection of the best photos of 2023 by the Time magazine.

UK postage is £3

Standard overseas postage is £10, or ask for a precise quote for your destination country, or make use of EBAY's Global Shipping Programme.

Postage will be combined for multiple purchases of Ukraine war issue stamp lots.