MELINA MÖRSDORF

Nova Post connects Ukrainian refugees with family and friends back home. Whether car tires or socks: from here, deliveries are made almost to the front line. There are 17 branches in Germany, one of which is in Hamburg. I visited the branch and met some very pragmatic and lovely people, including Oleksandr Oleksyshyn. He was one of the best long-distance swimmers in his country. He lived and trained in Browary, one of the places in the north of Kyiv that Russia's ruler Vladimir Putin wanted to overrun in February 2022. “I know what destroyed houses and dead people look like,” says Oleksyshyn quietly when asked about those days.
Today, the 23-year-old with spiky brown hair stands behind a counter not far from Hamburg Central Station and accepts postal parcels. Oleksyshyn has been in charge of the Hamburg branch of the Ukrainian postal company Nova Post for nine months. His team includes seven employees.