WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:05.000 JUDY WOODRUFF: The city of Zaporizhzhia lies in the southeast of Ukraine along the Dnieper River. 00:05.440 --> 00:10.160 It's very close to the front lines and so far remains in Ukrainian hands. 00:10.160 --> 00:13.760 In the early days of the war, fighting at its nuclear power plant 00:13.760 --> 00:18.760 put the entire world on edge. Now things have settled down there somewhat, 00:18.800 --> 00:23.800 but Zaporizhzhia has become a way station for thousands trying to escape Russian attacks. 00:24.640 --> 00:28.440 Special correspondent Volodymyr Solohub is there for us. 00:28.440 --> 00:32.240 VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: Zaporizhzhia is relatively calm now. But the routine 00:32.240 --> 00:37.240 here is anything but routine. The city has become a major logistics center for those 00:37.520 --> 00:41.840 fleeing the war in Mariupol and other towns in southeast of Ukraine. 00:41.840 --> 00:43.120 OLEKSANDR STARUKH, Governor of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (through translator): We have 00:43.120 --> 00:48.080 evacuated around 112,000 people to central and western parts of Ukraine 00:48.080 --> 00:52.000 since the beginning of the war. We serve as a sort of layover hub. 00:52.560 --> 00:56.960 If all of those evacuees stay here -- and that's tens of hundreds of thousands of 00:56.960 --> 01:01.960 people -- it would be very difficult for the city. Most of the evacuees just stay overnight 01:02.960 --> 01:05.440 and keep going into Central and Western Ukraine. 01:05.440 --> 01:09.680 VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: This is estate's main layover hub. All those fleeing the horrors 01:09.680 --> 01:14.560 of war come to this processing center to get help moving further from the fighting. 01:15.280 --> 01:20.280 And you can see the damage on the cars arriving here. Viktoria was forced to live three weeks in 01:21.840 --> 01:26.000 a basement of an apartment building in Mariupol with her 6-year-old daughter, 01:26.000 --> 01:31.000 Elisabeta, and two elderly parents. She told us the daily struggle to even cook. 01:32.320 --> 01:33.920 VIKTORIA SHEKHOVTSOVA, Mariupol Evacuee (through translator): 01:33.920 --> 01:38.920 We would put a pot a fire outdoors, add some water, start cooking. When they 01:39.040 --> 01:43.920 would start bombing, we would run back into our basement, then come back to see if it's ready. 01:44.480 --> 01:46.880 A lot of young guys helped us with whatever they could. 01:47.440 --> 01:51.200 Before the war, you would call that looting. Now it's just some help. 01:51.200 --> 01:56.200 VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: Staying in Mariupol was, of course, very dangerous. But fleeing the city was 01:56.800 --> 02:01.800 both dangerous and uncertain, since they didn't have Internet access, and hence the outside world. 02:03.200 --> 02:05.360 VIKTORIA SHEKHOVTSOVA (through translator): On March 19, 02:05.360 --> 02:09.280 when we were watching our apartment burn, we realized we needed to leave, 02:09.920 --> 02:12.560 but we couldn't leave our neighborhood. We were too afraid. 02:13.120 --> 02:17.120 Some people left at 4:00 a.m., packed their cars and drove. 02:17.120 --> 02:21.840 Some didn't make it and were turned back. There were no evacuation buses whatsoever. 02:21.840 --> 02:25.520 VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: And while the worst is behind Viktoria and her family, 02:25.520 --> 02:29.760 their future is uncertain. As she walks into this welcome center, 02:29.760 --> 02:32.880 she says she's not really sure what's next for her. 02:33.760 --> 02:38.240 For many, the road from Mariupol and other besieged cities in Eastern Ukraine took 02:38.240 --> 02:43.240 days before finally reaching this parking lot of a hardware store on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia. 02:45.680 --> 02:50.680 And, inside, they can get some clothing for those who had very little time to pack before 02:51.520 --> 02:56.520 fleeing the war. And, here, they're being greeted by the volunteers and social workers. 02:57.600 --> 03:02.600 They can get some food and hot drinks, and, for the first time, feel some sort of normality. 03:04.880 --> 03:08.880 They arrive here with children, pets, and the few belongings 03:08.880 --> 03:13.880 they could take with them. Many are confused, frightened, and not sure what to do next. 03:15.760 --> 03:20.720 But all of them ask the same question: Why did this happen to their city? 03:20.720 --> 03:23.680 OLEKSANDR STARUKH (through translator): One of the main problems of Mariupol, 03:23.680 --> 03:28.680 according to both the experts and those who fled the city, is the absence of air defense systems. 03:29.200 --> 03:33.840 If they had a proper air defense, Russians wouldn't be dropping 1,000-pound bombs on 03:33.840 --> 03:38.840 civilian objects. Zaporizhzhia also needs a proper air defense system. 03:38.880 --> 03:43.880 This will protect both our civilian objects and chemical plants and other dangerous facilities. 03:44.400 --> 03:47.760 VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: We discussed the need for more air defense systems 03:47.760 --> 03:51.200 with a Ukrainian fighter jet pilot, his location, 03:51.200 --> 03:56.200 face, and real name could not be disclosed. He asked us to refer to him by his call sign, Juice. 03:57.680 --> 04:02.680 JUICE, Ukrainian Air Force Pilot: Right now, we need some Soviet systems from our allies, 04:04.640 --> 04:09.640 like S-300, BUK system, which are mastered by our crews. Every day, 04:11.280 --> 04:16.280 we are losing our systems. Russians are hunting our SAMs, our ground-to-air missiles. 04:19.120 --> 04:24.120 So, every day, we need more and more and more. We need to close the sky 04:26.480 --> 04:31.480 above our cities, above large infrastructure like nuclear power stations, et cetera. 04:33.831 --> 04:38.720 VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: How big of a game-changer that would be if Ukraine was to receive 04:38.720 --> 04:39.840 these types of weapons? 04:39.840 --> 04:44.840 JUICE: We have a lot of advantages in land forces. We have a lot of 04:46.000 --> 04:51.000 good tanks, anti-tank missile systems, and other systems on the ground. 04:53.600 --> 04:58.600 But, in the air, unfortunately, we are not able to fight efficiently. 04:58.880 --> 05:02.560 VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: And while Ukraine is waiting for more air defenses systems, 05:02.560 --> 05:07.560 people from Mariupol and other towns and cities in Southeastern Ukraine continue living the horrors 05:08.240 --> 05:13.240 of war, whether in the basements of their homes or making the death-defying journey to safety. 05:15.120 --> 05:19.280 For the "PBS NewsHour" I'm Volodymyr Solohub in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. 05:19.280 --> 05:23.120 JUDY WOODRUFF: And a note: Our coverage of the war in Ukraine is 05:23.120 --> 05:28.120 supported in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.