Ukraine refugees' hopes of return wane after a month of war

As Russia launched its war in Ukraine last month, exhausted and frightened refugees streamed into neighboring countries

MEDYKA, Poland -- As Russia launched its war in Ukraine last month, exhausted and frightened refugees streamed into neighboring countries. They carried whatever they could quickly grab. Many cried. They still do.

The United Nations says that more than 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine since the war started exactly one month ago Thursday, in the biggest movement of people in Europe since World War II. Most believed they would soon be back home. That hope is waning now.

“At the beginning, we thought that this would end pretty soon,” said Olha Homienko, a 50-year-old woman from Kharkiv. “First of all, nobody could believe Russia would attack us, and we thought that it would end quickly.”

Now, Homienko said, "as we can see, there is nothing to look forward to.”