Ukrainian refugee dreams of returning home

STORY: Six months into the war - Tatiana Afansieva isn't sure when she'll return home to Ukraine.

She and her children are among 6.7 million displaced Ukrainians.

They're now safe in the Polish town of Poznan - but she had to leave behind her husband to get here.

"When you realize it's already been five months, it's almost half a year, it's half a year of my life. Ripped away from my life. I've had no life for these six months, it's not a life, it's not a life. I don't want to live like this."

Afansieva has had to rely on government aid and the kindness of strangers to survive.

The initial outpouring of support for refugees is now drying up - and some have struggled to find housing.

She was able to find a free apartment with a Polish woman who wanted to help Ukrainians.

Her children have now started school - but she has found it difficult to find a job.

Before the war she was on track for a promotion at a well-paying pharmaceutical company.

Now she makes about $100 dollars a month as a cleaner.

"When I was on the way, I had no idea how hard it would be for me. We were in such a state of shock that we simply boarded the train. We just took the train to Lviv, and only when we were on the train we started thinking about where to go next. I mean, we didn't even know... we didn't know anything."

After several rounds of western sanctions launched on the Kremlin since the start of the war - diplomats say they're limited in how much more they can pressure Russia and force it to back down.

Afansieva spends her days worrying for her husband.

Some of her neighbors in Ukraine tell her the Russian shelling has stopped - but she's simply too afraid to go back.