Huge queues outside post office as Ukrainians line up to buy stamp of defiant Snake Island guards

• Ukraine's postal service issued one million stamps brandishing the defiant insult to Russia as a "symbol of courage and the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people".

Thousands of people queued for hours at Kyiv's main post office on Wednesday to buy stamps honouring the defiant Ukrainian soldiers who told a Russian warship to "go f*** yourself" after being ordered to surrender.

Ukrainian officials initially believed 13 sailors, who were defending Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in the Black Sea, had been killed after they refused to surrender to Russian warship, the Moskva, which has since sunk. 

But it later emerged there had been 19 border guards stationed on the island and they had all been taken prisoner by the Russians.

They were later released from captivity as part of a prisoner exchange with Russian forces and hailed heroes as they were brought home.

Ukraine's postal service issued one million stamps brandishing the defiant insult to Russia as a "symbol of courage and the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people".

It has already sold more than two-thirds of the stamps, with some Ukrainians waiting in line for more than five hours to buy one.

One woman said the stamp was "a symbol of our country’s defiance and a symbol of victory".

She added her friends from abroad had asked her to buy one and send them a postcard.

Another customer said: "It’s a souvenir that I’ll show to my children. Everyone is buying them and so have I."

Ihor Smelyanksy, director of Ukraine's postal service, said: "It’s a symbol of Ukraine, a symbol of our future victory. We will issue a separate stamp for victory. There will be a victory stamp.”

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