On April 7, 2023, a Georgian-language Facebook user published a post, according to which the Ukrainian post office issued a series of stamps dedicated to the SS division “Galicia.” The post is accompanied by a photo showing the alleged stamps issued by Ukraine.
Notably, the same information was voiced by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, at a briefing on January 27, 2023. According to Zakharova, stamps were issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the SS division “Galicia” on the Holocaust Memorial Day in Ukraine. Zakharova’s comments were covered by Russian propaganda media, including Украина.ру and Zvezda.
The stamps depicted in the circulated photo were not issued by the Ukrainian Post. Information about the stamps has been circulating since 2018, although they are printed by a group of enthusiasts and do not represent official postage stamps.
It should be noted that information about stamps with images of members of the SS division “Galicia” has been circulating in the Russian media and Russian-language forums since 2018. In addition, on April 27, 2018, the Russian Embassy in South Africa shared a photo of the stamps on Twitter, claiming that stamps were issued in Ukraine “in honour of the Nazi division.”
In fact, a small number of stamps were issued in 2018 by a group of enthusiasts who are researching the history of the “Galicia” division. The corresponding post is also published on Facebook. In the comments of the same post, it can be seen that these stamps are not official, they are available in limited quantities, and they were available for purchase in Lviv at the event related to the 75th anniversary of the “Galicia” division.
These stamps are currently available for online auction, although this auction is also placed in the category of non-postal stamps, in which non-official stamps of various designs are being put for sale.
The stamps dedicated to the “Galicia” division are not available either on the official website of the Ukrainian Post, Укрпошта, or in the quarterly journals, where information about new stamps is published. In addition, on the international stamp catalogue site Stampworld.com, where stamps issued by different countries can be viewed by year, no similar stamps are available among the stamps issued in 2018. The list of stamps issued in 2018 can also be found on Wikipedia, which is based on the 2018 catalogue of the Post of Ukraine, currently, this particular section is no longer available directly on the website of the Post of Ukraine, although a link to the archive of the catalogue is available on the Internet. In this archive of the post office, the honorary stamps of the “Galicia” division cannot be found either.
The Ukrainian fact-checking agency Stopfake fact-checked the claim about the stamps back in 2018. After Zakharova’s briefing in January 2023, the information was verified by another Ukrainian fact-checking agency Vox Ukraine and the Baltic agency Delfi.
The Galicia Division was part of the Waffen SS, the military wing of the SS during World War II, which consisted mainly of Ukrainian volunteers from the Galicia region. The division was created as part of a program designed to form foreign units in the Waffen SS to fight the Soviet Union. The division was organized by the German governor of Galicia, Otto von Wächter, and its creation was officially announced on April 28, 1943. After the formation of the National Army of Ukraine in 1945, the division “Galicia” became part of the first division of the National Army of Ukraine.
About the Source:
Georgian-language Facebook user Nona Sharabidze regularly spreads pro-Russian posts and disinformation. “Myth Detector” has verified the false claims spread by the user several times in the past as well. For details, see:
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