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

Ukrainian refugee Tamila Melnichenko, 82, from Kyiv, looks through a window as she pedals a small training bicycle during a rehabilitation session at the Armada retirement home in Glogoczow, Poland February 10, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

GLOGOCZOW, Poland (Reuters) - 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.