Victoria, a Ukrainian refugee, is celebrating Orthodox Christmas in Poland with a simple prayer - that next year she will be back at home.
The 40-year-old is one of the millions of Ukrainians who have fled the Russian invasion of their homeland and are marking the holiday with mixed emotions - relief that they are safe, but sadness to be away from their families.
"Two or three years ago we could wonder if anyone would knock on our door, now we know that someone is already there," he told Reuters. For Victoria, who fled her home city of Irpin with her son in March last year, this is her first Christmas away from home. Although she is safe with her son, Christmas is not the same. In her shared accommodation she does not have access to a kitchen and cannot cook traditional festive meals like she used to back in Ukraine.
Marta Akopian, 25, from Donetsk, attended the Mass to reflect and pray. "I prayed for the strength and bravery for our army and of course for myself and my family," she said.
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