Raisa Andreyevna,72, walks home from a local market area which was destroyed back in 2015. She works as a janitor which pays her enough to survive. Originally from Russia, she now lives alone. Her children and grandchildren have all moved away to safer areas as part of Donetsk remain dangerous and occasionally gets shelled. “I have told them to move out, I am not afraid to get killed because I have already lived my life but they have children they have to take care of.” Since the beginning of the war she can no longer receive her Ukrainian pension of $50 a month.

Opytne, Eastern Ukraine: Mariya Gorpynych, age 76, lives alone. She speaks with tears in her eyes while talking about the death of her son. Victor,48 was killed due to the war in 2016, he was fatally injured by shelling that hit the home. He died in her hands. Her husband, died in the same year from a heart attack from extreme stress of living too close to the front line. Mariya refuses to leave her village because her family are buried there."I have nowhere to flee, my whole family is buried here." "I got used to the continued shelling." Opytne is a war torn village on the contact line where only 43 people are left due to the dangers.

Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic (DPR): Antonina Kondratiyevna, 77, stands in her neighbor's home, destroyed during heavy battles between Ukrainian army and pro-Russian militia in 2014-2015. She and her elderly sister are among few residents living in the devastated neighborhood near Donetsk airport.

Avdiivka: Vladimir Mamoshyn, age 65, sits in his wheelchair, his wife died in 2010, now he lives alone his children abandoned him. He resides in the war-torn Avdiivka village, less than a kilometer from the contact line where daily shelling and gunfire can be heard. In 2016, Vladimir lost his leg due to a vascular disease, with poor access to health facilities along with inadequate health care. After having a heart attack a few months later in 2017 he lost the use of his left hand, now he lives in a wheelchair depending on family and friends to help him.

Chasov Yar, Donetsk region: Lyudmila Yevgenievna, age 64 from Chasov Yar is seen by windows at All her relatives have died and she was left alone and couldn't take care of the household and herself. The owner of the nursing home brings her to the church by car every Sunday and she stays for 3-hour service. Evgeniy Tkachev has founded the elderly care facility with his own money. He bought two private houses across the street from each other. One house is for elderly women, another for men. "I evacuate elderly people from the stress affected by the conflict, These people have nowhere to go, their relatives do not care about them, 50% of the elderly here do not receive their pensions due to the loss of the documents."

Opytne, Eastern Ukraine: Mariya Gorpynych, age 76, lives alone. She holds new chicks delivered by ICRC as part of a humanitarian aid service for elderly that live alone. It also allows them to raise chickens for some income. She speaks with tears in her eyes when talking about the death of her son. Victor,48 was killed due to the war in 2016, he was fatally injured by shelling that hit the home. He died in her hands. Her husband, died in the same year from a heart attack from extreme stress of living too close to the front line. Mariya refuses to leave her village because her family are buried there."I have nowhere to flee, my whole family is buried here." "I got used to the continued shelling." Opytne is a war torn village on the contact line where only 43 people are left due to the dangers.

Donetsk, People's Republic (DPR) : Galina Mikhailovna , age 79, waits for customers at a second hand market in suffering during a cold winter day in February. She sells used goods that others give to her in the market for pensioners, sits in the snow with some street dogs. She has no pension, she never went to Ukraine to register, but claims she cannot afford to travel to the other side every 57 days which is required by the government.

Opytne: Donetsk region: Raisa Petrovna, 80 and her husband Stanislav Vasilyevich live in a village often caught in the crossfire between Ukrainian and Pro-Russian separatists, too close to the contact line. Raisa says that tanks were driving in front of their home in the first year of the war, now they have learned to live with the sound of shelling and gunfire daily. "We were sitting last home, screaming at them not to kill us!" Riasa said. " Her husband was injured twice by shrapnel, once in his abdomen, requiring surgery. He suffers from a hernia that keeps on growing. Stanislav suffers from dementia now along with his other medical issues. " I have to treat him as a child, I am so sorry that he is like this now, I am afraid to leave him even for a moment.;" Raisa stated. Their two sons live on the other side of the contact line unable to visit often because of the war. Their village, Opytne depends on humanitarian organizations to help the elderly who refuse to leave their homes and are trapped in a dangerous situation.

Opytne: Donetsk region: Raisa Petrovna, 80 is now a widow, living alone on the front line. Her husband Stanislav Vasilyevich passed away 4 months ago, suffered from dementia and other health issues that went untreated. She lives alone in a village often caught in the crossfire between Ukrainian and Pro-Russian separatists.

Avdiivka, Eastern Ukraine: Nikolay age 61, is homeless, his house was destroyed in old Avdiivka. He collects garbage for recycling to earn a few dollars and sleeps in a bunker underground in one of the apartment blocks in the city. He barely survives, has lost his passport, and has no money for medicine, unable to receive a pension after his documents were destroyed in the fire. Over the winter he got frostbite in his feet causing an infection that won't go away, he suffers in constant pain.

Avdiivka, Eastern Ukraine: Nikolay age 61, is homeless, his house was destroyed in old Avdiivka. He sleeps in a bunker underground in one of the apartment blocks in the city. He barely survives, has lost his passport, and has no money for medicine, unable to receive a pension after his documents were destroyed in the fire. He collects garbage for recycling to earn a few dollars. Over the winter he got frostbite in his feet causing an infection that won't go away, he suffers in constant pain.

Avdiivika: Ludmyla Vasilevna, age 61, lives alone with her cats and a few dogs in a war torn village very close to the contact line where most have left due to the dangers. Her son is in the DPR military - militia. Her house was damaged over the years, refuses to leave as she has nowhere else to go.

Mariya Ivanovna, age 85 has been living in a bomb shelter for 4 years. Her pension is the only source of income for the whole family. She has suffered two strokes. “I remember the WW2. There is no difference between these two wars. Back then we had nothing to eat and nowhere to hide.”“It's very difficult to call an ambulance. They don't come because of the shelling.”

Ivan Ivanovich, age 65, is a double amputee but has no memory of how he lost his legs, he was brought to the Druzhkovka nursing home by healthcare workers, abandoned by his family, his daughter lives in Russia. He used to work as a coal miner. The nursing home facility takes care of many elderly who are left behind, and poverty stricken due to the war.

Valentina Streltsova, age 68, lost her toes due to frostbite. She was found by ICRC, abandoned, was dropped off at the Druzhkovka nursing home. The nursing home facility takes care of many elderly who are left behind, and poverty stricken due to the war.

Druzhkovka, Donetsk region: Sergey Nikitin fell down after having had a stroke, he is seen resting at the Druzhkovka nursing home. As he has dementia, his family abandoned him as they moved to safer areas away from the conflict zone. The nursing home facility takes care of many elderly who are left behind, and poverty stricken due to the war.

Aleksandra Losipovna, age 91, from Kramatorsk, was brought to the nursing home by her only relative, her grandson, because she lives alone and he is afraid she can harm herself, there has been no medical treatment provided besides painkillers. Aleksandra passed away in the nursing home in May.

An elderly woman is seen reflected in the window of a streetcar in Donetsk.

Avdiivika: Ludmyla Vasilevna, age 61, lives alone with her cats and a few dogs in a war torn village very close to the contact line where most have left due to the dangers. Her son is in the DPR military - militia. Her house was damaged over the years, refuses to leave as she has nowhere else to go.

Avdiivika: Elena Parshyna,age 66, is blind and lives alone now sits on her bed with her dog who now has passed away along with her husband who had a heart attack in April and her son who also died late in 2017 from the same fate. Both her husband and her son were buried in a small cemetery that is mined and too close to the military positions so she never can go visit the graves. The home was shelled last year, still damaged but Elena refuses to leave. Her remaining family - daughter and a sister all live on the other side of the contact line in Makeyevka city controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Valentina Iosipovna, age 76 lays in bed waiting for staff to feed her at the Druzhkovka nursing home. Her family abandoned her after her dementia became more advanced, her home was destroyed from shelling and her husband died from a heart attack.

Raisa Andreyevna,72, waits in line for food aid given out by a local charity in an impoverished area of Donetsk. She works as a janitor which pays her enough to survive. Originally from Russia, she now lives alone. Her children and grandchildren have all moved away to safer areas as part of Donetsk remain dangerous and occasionally gets shelled. “I have told them to move out, I am not afraid to get killed because I have already lived my life but they have children they have to take care of.” Since the beginning of the war she can no longer receive her Ukrainian pension of $50 a month.

Zolote, Luhansk region: Marina Zelenina, 64, lives alone. She is suffering from a lung disability and is barely able to walk around her small apartment. Her neighbor does shopping for her. A local nurse visits a few times per week to provide her with medical assistance scarce in this area situated few kilometers away from the fighting. Her elderly mother died from a heart attack after she had undergone severe shock caused by the shelling at the height of the conflict. Marina’s family left the city looking for employment and safety. The woman has not seen them since. Occasionally she talks with them over Skype.

Mayorsk, Eastern Ukraine: An elderly woman is exhausted after waiting in line for hours in the cold to cross the border from Donetsk to the government-controlled territory of Ukraine in order to collect her pension.

Mayorsk, Eastern Ukraine : An elderly handicapped woman slowly makes her way along the border crossing to Donetsk , People's Republic (DPR) after making the exhausting journey to get her pension in Eastern Ukraine.

Katerinovka, Lugansk: Natalia Reshetnyakova, age 83, holds a portrait of her late husband who she was married to for over 50 years. She lives alone now. The only thing left reminding her of her husband is this portrait. The population of Natalia's village comprises less than 300 people. The village is exposed to the sniper’s fire as the contact line is just few kilometers away.

Nadezhda Borisovna, age 76, from Dobropolye, died in the nursing home from diabetes and obesity. The body has to stay in the room with two other sick elderly women, untouched for about 2 days, as nursing home has no resources to deliver it to the morgue and the healthcare institution from her native town delays to pick her body up. Her neighbors took the responsibility to organize a funeral service for her as she has no relatives.

A woman lights candles during a Sunday service at a church in Donetsk.

A war-torn cemetery full of tombstones that have been hit by gunfire at the devastated neighborhood near the Donetsk airport.