A year into Ukraine war, older refugees running out of hope

Ukrainian refugee Tamila Melnichenko, 82, from Kyiv, reads a book in her room at the Armada retirement home in Glogoczow, Poland February 10, 2023. A year ago, she was uprooted by the Russian invasion and now spends her days in the retirement home, longing for the life she had to leave behind. The former nurse reads Ukrainian and Russian classics and memorises poems or walks down the narrow corridors on her crutches to keep herself busy as the days slowly tick by. Her thoughts constantly drift back to Ukraine where she lived all her life and raised her family. "I'm old, I want to die there (in Kyiv). Now I don’t know where I will die," she said. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Tamila Melnichenko, 82, has one last wish: to be buried in Ukraine. A year ago, she was uprooted by the Russian invasion and now spends her days in a retirement home in Poland, longing for the life she had to leave behind.

The former nurse reads Ukrainian and Russian classics and memorises poems or walks down the narrow corridors on her crutches to keep herself busy as the days slowly tick by.