DHL has shipped more than 60,000 care packages free of charge from Germany to Ukraine since the beginning of April 2022.
Just a few weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, DHL initiated a campaign whereby private customers could send care packages free of charge to support people who are in urgent need of food, medical products, household items (such as blankets) and hygiene articles (such as diapers). All they had to do is download the specially prepared label addressed to “Humanitarian Aid Ukraine” from the DHL website and post their labeled parcels of up to 20kg at a local retail outlet. DHL then transported the parcels by truck from Germany to the transfer points in Poland, where they are handed over to Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian national postal service. From there, Ukrposhta transported the relief supplies into Ukraine and distributed them where they are most needed.
However, the company warned that it is not possible to ship parcels to specific addresses in Ukraine through the free DHL service. Items such as weapons, cash or perishable foodstuffs are also prohibited. The Ukrainian postal service also requests that no clothing donations be sent by this means. Furthermore, the free shipment offer only applies to parcels up to 20kg, and not express shipments, letters or heavy freight.
Ole Nordhoff, who is in charge of domestic and international product management at Post and Parcel Germany, explained, “It is encouraging to see the tremendous willingness to help in Germany and the strong solidarity among European postal service providers when it comes to helping people in Ukraine. Of course, a special logistical process like this cannot be a lasting solution, but it was important to us to initiate a relief process together with the Ukrainian postal service at very short notice and without red tape, and to offer assistance together with many people from Germany at a time when conventional relief processes were not yet established.”
Igor Smelyansky, CEO of Ukrposhta, said, “Germany has supported Ukraine and its population since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. This support was made possible by the fact that Deutsche Post DHL very quickly began collecting care packages and handing them over to us for further distribution. When the invasion began, Ukrposhta appealed to all postal companies around the world for help. Some then introduced free shipping of parcels and some collected humanitarian aid through their post offices and sent them to charity funds, while others assisted Ukrposhta. Thanks to the coordinated activities and to many donors, relief has been provided to 487,765 households, particularly in the Donetsk, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions. Ukrposhta thanks Deutsche Post DHL and the people in Germany for supporting Ukraine in its fight for independence and democratic values.”
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