Name: Ukraines elderly struggle as war with Russia grinds on
Uploaded: 2023-11-21T14:52:00.375Z
Duration: 3 min
Description: The elderly are often last to evacuate warzones. Unable or unwilling to leave their homes, many of them rely on humanitarian aid and the support of their communities to survive.

The elderly are often last to evacuate warzones. Unable or unwilling to leave their homes, many of them rely on humanitarian aid and the support of their communities to survive. 

Kharkiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine's elderly struggle as war with Russia grinds on

There is no place Lyudmila Mushnina could go back to. Her home is gone, she says. I am from Bakhmut, the fortress, where everything is destroyed. My apartment lies in ruins and I was left, left barefoot on the street. There's nothing left. Here in Kharkiv, she's found shelter in a residence for the elderly. At first she tried to survive on her own, with her savings. But an eye disease left her almost blind, complicating everything. Who will rent an apartment to me, 82 years and blind? Everybody says we don't have the funds to buy a new one afterwards. What if she blows up the apartment by accident, renting out to a blind person? Things started happening here at the beginning of the war. Kharkiv was under attack and many people, including social workers, fled the city. Volunteers like Olga became a first point of contact. Sometimes we would get calls from the last people to leave a multi-storey building. They would tell us, we know there is a bedridden lady on the third floor with her doors locked. We would then break into her apartment and save her, cut through the door and carry her out. There are now about 50 people living here. The cities left behind elderly were soon joined by refugees from front-line towns and occupied territories. Organisers have hired staff to keep everything going. At the moment they rely on short-term grants, but Olga Kleitman thinks more will be needed. Many such institutions will be needed. The young have left the city, but the elderly won't go. Even if they are offered an alternative, they will say, I'm not going anywhere. I will die here. So this will be Kharkiv's problem for a long time. These are her visions for the future. Olga is an architect and has drawn plans for a new residence she wants to build. For now, the old building, a former dormitory, has to do. It's a tight fit with two to a room. For Olga Zhadan, this is the second war in her life. She remembers the Germans occupied her home during World War II. Now, at the other end of her life, it's the Russians. Nobody would have thought they might invade us. If there was anything we old people, pensioners, could do to stop this, I would give anything.

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Ukraine Invasion