"Ukrposhta" to strengthen parcel checks before sending abroad

Ukrposhta has created its own aviation security service, which will inspect international shipments while still in Ukraine and identify dangerous and prohibited items. The company expects that this will reduce cases where entire batches of cargo are delayed at the border or at the airport due to a few problematic parcels.

The launch of the service was announced by Ukrposhta CEO Ihor Smilianskyi. The information was also confirmed by the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories.

According to Smilianskyi, creating its own aviation security does not mean launching its own aircraft or resuming air transport directly from Ukrainian airports. The primary focus is strengthening the control of international mail before it is handed over to foreign partners.

One problematic parcel can delay a 20-ton truck

Ukrposhta currently uses 159 air routes and carries out international postal exchange with 230 countries and territories worldwide.

The main flows go through aviation hubs in London, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Riga, and Chisinau. Backup routes are organized via Prague, Amsterdam, Bucharest, and Bratislava.

More than 90% of international parcels are processed and sent abroad by Ukrposhta within a maximum of 24 hours. At the same time, according to Smilianskyi, questions about one to five shipments can lead to an entire 20-ton truck being stopped for additional inspection, causing thousands of other parcels to be delayed for one to two days.

Partners are primarily interested in preventing weapons, explosive items, prohibited substances, and other dangerous contents from being transported by air.

For Ukrainian exporters, such delays have direct business consequences: delivery times affect relationships with buyers, seller ratings on marketplaces, repeat orders, and the competitiveness of goods in foreign markets.

X-ray systems and AI will be used

Employees of the new service have undergone specialized training with the participation of experts from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The training covered international methodologies for creating risk profiles, as well as detecting dangerous and prohibited contents in postal items.

Ukrposhta is developing the service jointly with the State Customs Service. The company emphasizes that it will not replace customs control but should become an additional layer of inspection before items are handed over to customs officers.

Ukrposhta also plans to increase the number of specialized equipment at automated sorting hubs. This includes modern X-ray systems and X-ray television introscopes.

The next stage should be the use of artificial intelligence for analyzing risk profiles and other types of control of international shipments.

Expecting to accelerate the export of Ukrainian goods

Ukrposhta expects that its own aviation security system will allow for faster passage through the entire chain - from processing a shipment at the terminal to handing it over to customs and the international carrier.

The company is also preparing separate simplifications for regular and verified customers, but their details are not yet disclosed.

Based on materials from: Ihor Smilianskyi, Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine