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Ukrposhta is introducing a new, more centralized sorting model that will affect the delivery of print media.
In April, several regional print media editorial offices received letters from Ukrposhta regarding changes in the operation of sorting centers where newspapers and magazines are accepted, processed, and distributed for delivery to subscribers. The letters stated that press processing in some regions would be transferred to a sorting center in Kyiv. In a letter sent to media outlets in Chernivtsi, Ukrposhta suggested that editorial teams “consider the possibility of delivering print runs themselves or relocating newspaper printing to Kyiv.”
Ukrposhta has recently been reforming this sector and announced in 2024 the introduction of automated sorting. At the time, the company’s CEO Ihor Smilianskyi said that 24 sorting centers were expected to be launched that same year. In 2025, the company announced it had transitioned from manual sorting to automated lines. However, this mainly concerned parcels and shipments. At the same time, Ukrposhta also provides print media subscription services and manages logistics for transporting print runs from printing houses to end consumers.
Detector Media contacted Ukrposhta to learn more about the changes regarding print media sorting centers.
The company’s public communications department said that Ukrposhta is continuing its transition to a new print media processing model as part of a broader transformation of its logistics network—from manual sorting to automated processing. The new system is based on a hub model with several key centers: Kyiv-Left Bank, Kyiv-Right Bank, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa, as well as a network of regional branches that receive print runs and ensure delivery.
“Under the new model, print media is processed on automated lines and grouped into separate containers for specific routes, reducing the number of manual operations and reloads during transportation. Kyiv, like the other three cities, is one of these centers and, during the implementation phase, is partially taking on the workload for certain routes, but it is not the only point for press sorting,” the company said.
According to Ukrposhta, this innovation should not lead to delays in newspaper delivery.
“During an analysis of supply sources—particularly the publishers from which print runs are received—we found that newspapers are often printed in the same printing houses and then distributed across the country. Now, thanks to the new automated sorting lines, there is no need to transport newspapers across the country to multiple sorting centers. This can be done at one of the five main centers, or several of them. We coordinate operational details with editorial teams in advance, including the timing of print run transfers, and adjust processes when necessary,” Ukrposhta explained.
The communications department also commented on its suggestion that newspapers move their printing operations to Kyiv:
“The decision about where to print remains entirely with the publisher and is not a condition for changes in logistics. Naturally, if a printing house is located in Kyiv, Lviv (or nearby, such as in Ternopil, where many printing facilities operate), Dnipro, or Odesa, the time between printing and sorting will be minimal, allowing publications to reach readers faster. Each editorial office independently decides where to print based on its own balance of speed and cost. Accordingly, these operational changes on Ukrposhta’s part do not create conditions that would limit the work of regional printing houses, nor do they impose any requirements to change the place of printing. In our interactions with publishers, we provide explanations regarding delivery logistics upon request, but we do not determine their production decisions.”
According to the company’s communications department, the model with multiple sorting centers in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa is being introduced gradually, without interrupting current delivery operations, with workloads distributed among different cities to ensure continuity.
“It is worth noting that this model also takes into account the realities of wartime and makes it possible to manage risks while delivering print media to readers as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Ukrposhta added.
However, Serhii Cherniavskyi, head of the public union Joint Self-Regulatory Body in the Field of Print Media, believes that Ukrposhta’s new system could significantly delay print deliveries.
He cites the example of the Molodyi Bukovynets newspaper from Chernivtsi, which is now sorted at a hub in Kyiv. The newspaper’s circulation is 10,000 copies. It goes to print on Wednesday morning because it only receives TV listings on Tuesday evening. Previously, after printing, the newspaper’s own courier service delivered copies to subscribers in Chernivtsi on Wednesday, while Ukrposhta distributed the newspaper across the region on Thursday. Now, there are delays of several days.
“The newspaper is sorted on Thursday, reaches Chernivtsi on Friday at best. In the city, readers receive it on Saturday, and in the wider region, even later,” Cherniavskyi said.
He also quoted Bohdan Zahaiskyi, co-owner of Molodyi Bukovynets, who remarked that one hundred years ago, newspapers reached readers in Chernivtsi on the very same day they were printed in Vienna.
According to Cherniavskyi, in addition to Chernivtsi media outlets, print publications from one other region have also been redirected for sorting in the capital, while in the remaining regions newspapers and magazines are still being processed in semi-automated sorting centers located in each oblast.
Another concern, he says, relates to local printing houses:
“The hub in Lviv is not yet operational—otherwise, why would publications from Chernivtsi be sent to Kyiv for sorting? According to my sources, Ukrposhta representatives privately told local publishers that the Lviv sorting center would only be launched in a few months. Sorting in Kyiv means delays of up to a week. As a result, publishers will start moving their printing operations to Kyiv. There are only two or three printing houses in the capital. In whose interests is Ukrposhta acting? Certainly not in the interests of local printing houses that pay taxes and provide jobs.”
He argues that sorting centers in only four cities are insufficient for efficient delivery, especially when Ukrposhta previously had sorting centers in every regional capital.
“Everywhere else, there is decentralization, but Ukrposhta is centralizing. This model could destroy subscriptions for the second half of the year because people will not subscribe to newspapers with news content and TV listings that are no longer timely. It may also undermine subscriptions for 2027.”
Oleksii Pohorelov, president of the Ukrainian Media Business Association, believes that the effectiveness of Ukrposhta’s new model can only be assessed over time.
“Automating sorting is undoubtedly the right step. But its impact can only be evaluated in practice, because this is fundamentally a logistics issue: which printing house the print run comes from, which sorting center it goes to, and what route the sorted newspaper bundles then take.”
He says that the publishers he has spoken with have not yet independently calculated how the new system will affect processing times.
“Contracts for this year have already been signed, so they will continue operating within those agreements. This means they will study the changes in practice. Perhaps if Ukrposhta had provided publishers with preliminary estimates of how logistics would change for each of them, it would have been easier to prepare and to communicate these changes to subscribers. In the end, subscribers will feel the effects of these changes and will either be satisfied or will complain to publishers, as usually happens. But we have what we have—practice will show.”
He adds that publishers need to reassess the logistics of their subscription print runs in terms of both cost and time. Local media outlets that print close to the majority of their subscribers should decide whether their own delivery systems might be more beneficial, especially if they are also developing retail sales.
Collage: Mykola Shymanskyi
This material was prepared with the support of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
