Trains no longer run to Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region—part of the Donbas claimed in its entirety by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. It's another sign of the steady Russian advance.
Instead, the last station is now on the western side of the Donetsk border. This is where civilians and soldiers wait for a ride towards relative safety—their train to get out of Dodge.
Putin has been sounding more bullish since the leak of US proposals to end the war, widely seen as being in tune with his maximalist demands. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says territory remains the most difficult issue facing US-led peace talks.
At the last station on the line, soldier Andrii and his girlfriend Polina are parting after an all-too-brief time together. Andrii has to return to the front and they don't know when they'll see each other again.
He laughs when I mention peace talks, which have seen Donald Trump's envoys speak to Ukrainian negotiators before heading to Moscow, and dismisses them as 'chatter, just chatter.' He doesn't think the war will be over soon.
Skepticism runs deep among other soldiers boarding the train west for a brief respite from the fighting. Russian forces now control some 85% of the Donbas, made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. On Tuesday, they claimed to have captured the key strategic town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, though Ukrainian forces reported that fighting continues in the city.
Soldier Denys, serving in the Ukrainian army for the past two years, shares his sentiments: 'Everyone's drained, everyone's tired mentally and physically.'
Ceding territory where at least a quarter of a million Ukrainians live—the Donetsk 'fortress belt' cities of Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, and Druzhkivka—will not be acceptable to most Ukrainians. Denys adamantly states, 'Nobody will give Putin the Donbas. No way, it's our land.'
However, an exodus of civilians continues as peace talks unfold. Our team witnesses dozens, old and young, arriving at a reception center just over the border in Lozova. They had taken advantage of heavy fog to make their escape, lessening the risk of drone strikes.
Families like Yevheniy’s, arriving from Kramatorsk with their children, reveal the ongoing dangers: 'More drones now... it's getting harder and harder to even go outside. Everything is dangerous.'
While some express willingness to exchange geographic concessions for peace, opinions are sharply divided. Inna, escaping with her five children, emphasizes the need for peace: 'In this situation, yes,' when asked about giving up their home for safety.
Meanwhile, desertion remains a significant issue within the ranks, and voices like Serhii’s—who remains in hiding—speak of disillusionment and doubt about Ukraine's chances in the war: 'If you think logically, no. A country of 140 million against us with 32 million—logically, it doesn't add up.'
