Ukrainian farmers say they can't go back to how things were, no matter how the war ends

On the front lines of Ukraine, a sense of loss and uncertainty is everywhere.

In the Kharkiv region farmers we spoke to say they can never go back to how things were. No matter how the war ends.

We visited Lubov Zlobina, 64, in the village of Mala Rohan. She stayed on her farm even when it was under occupation in 2022. It suffered heavy damage. She remembers the worst day, March 26, 2022, her own birthday, when her farm was shelled and dozens of her animals were killed.

Now she squeezes her surviving cows into two remaining barns. The animals are cold in winter, she says, because the roof is filled with holes from artillery, their water freezes in the trough.

Her field, where she used to grow grain to feed them, is filled with landmines.

Next we visited Viktor Hordienko, 72, and his son Konstyantyn Hordienko, 50. They can no longer work on their land — it's where the war is still playing out.

Before the war, the wheat and sunflowers that Viktor grew would cover the fields in color. Green wheat in one season, golden flowers in another. Now they can only visit occasionally, at their own risk since it's on the edge of the frontlines.

Their last hope is that someday a future generation can find some peace.