"The stamp has turned out to be exceptionally popular," Mart Mägi, board chair of state postal service Ominva said, adding it had essentially sold out despite having roughly twice the print run, at 50,000, than a regular postal stamp.

"Postage stamps are important symbols and messengers. We are living in critical times and this postage stamp reflects those pivotal events, giving a very clear and important message. 'Slava Ukraini' carries a message of peace and is a symbolic statement of support to Ukraine in its fight for independence," Mägi went on, via an Omniva press release.

"This postage stamp was issued in exceptional circumstances and very quickly, through cooperation between many people, on March 24, only a month after Russia attacked Ukraine."

A postal stamp committee selects its choice as most memorable imprint of the year; the winning design (see cover image) was one of 26 stamps issued this year and depicts a white dove set against the Ukrainian flag, with the "Slava Ukraini" in the Ukrainian cyrillic script, followed in Estonian by "Eesti toetab Ukrainat" ("Estonia supports Ukraine").

Omniva created the design in conjunction with advertising agency Utopia.

The postal stamp of the year award has been issued every year since the early 1990s and is based on a committee vote.

Last year's winner was the "Järvselja 100" design, which marked the centennial of the foundation of Järvselja forestry area.

Committee members are Mart Mägi, joined by art expert Mariina Mälk, philatelist Tiit Pruuli, historian and Social Democratic Party MP Jaak Juske Marili Tammaru, Head of the Philately and Postage Stamp Department of Omniva, chaired by Rein-Karl Loide, professor emeritus of TalTech and Chairman of the Estonian Philatelic Society.

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