‘Time stopped’: Ukrainians long to go home as war drags on

By VANESSA GERA and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — As Russia’s war against Ukraine reaches the sixth-month mark, many refugees are coming to the bitter realization that they will not be returning home soon. With shelling around a nuclear power plant and missiles threatening even western regions of Ukraine, many refugees don’t feel safe at home, even if those areas are under Ukrainian control. Though some plan to make new lives abroad, many are simply biding their time until they can return. Some reluctantly sign their children up for schools in Poland, Germany and elsewhere, worried they will fall behind. Meanwhile some professionals take jobs below their skill levels just trying to survive.