Airbnb setting up free housing for up to 100,000 Ukraine refugees

Airbnb said it will help shelter some of the nearly 700,000 people who have fled Ukraine as Russian forces continue their assault of the Eastern European country. The initiative comes as the U.N. refugee agency on Tuesday warned that Europe would soon be dealing with what it called the continent's "largest refugee crisis this century." 

"Airbnb.org is prepared to offer housing of up to 14 days for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine," a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in an email. The organization works with nonprofits on the ground to book and coordinate stays for refugees, who also receive a range of other support in their new lives, the spokesperson added.

Airbnb executives wrote to the leaders of Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania offering help in temporarily housing refugees fleeing to their countries, the San Francisco company said Monday.