Most of those on the platform were women and children who waited outside for hours due to the falling snow and frost, trying to position themselves in a spot where the train doors might eventually open.
As the train came to a halt, emotions surged as women tearfully said goodbye to their husbands and male relatives, who are barred from leaving the country between the ages of 18 and 60, trying to get their children and belongings on board. through crowds of people.
The exodus from the city and from all over Ukraine has begun since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, and more than a million refugees have poured into neighboring countries. The pace of evacuations from Zaporozhye has accelerated since Thursday evening, when the nearby nuclear power plant at Energodar was overrun by Russian soldiers, who set fire to a training building adjacent to the plant. Some residents fear that the next time the Russians will attack the city itself or try to cut off the electricity.
The capture of the power plant was the last push for 19-year-old Anna Ilyushchenko and her family to flee the country. They plan to go to Lithuania where they have friends.
“The situation is escalating,” Ilyushchenko said. “My mother and sister decided to leave, so I’m leaving with them.”
But Ilyushchenko said it was “hard” for her to leave her boyfriend, 33-year-old Sergei Pritulo. The couple stood, hugging and kissing, on the edge of the platform of Zaporozhskaya 1 station, saying goodbye.
“I feel bad. My country is (in) war,” Pritulo said. “It’s very bad for all people.” But he will stay to protect his homeland, he added.
For families with children, their focus is on getting them to safety, either in western Ukraine or outside the country.
Oleg Khodarev cradles his two-year-old daughter Vasilisa in his arms and hugs his wife, preparing to part with them, without saying when they will be reunited.
“We just want to save the child’s life,” Khodaryov said. “We could never imagine it.”
Their family home is located in the center of Zaporozhye near the civil administration building. They fear that if the city becomes a target, they will be in the line of fire.
“There are no normal bomb shelters,” says his wife, Natalya. “The houses have only a few cellars, but it’s easy to get stuck under the rubble in them.”
For others, leaving the city involved the difficult choice of who they had to leave behind.
Alisa Panaseiko, 41, said she made the “difficult decision” to travel to Lviv alone because the 620-kilometer journey would have been too difficult for her parents.
“They can’t go because (they are) old people,” Panaseiko said. “This situation is very sad.”
Many older people have chosen to stay in Ukraine either because they don’t want to leave their homes, because they don’t have the strength to make the trip, or because they want to help the military.
Nikolai Tymchishin, 80, stood on the platform behind the crowded crowd, hoping that his daughter and grandson would make it to the train.
While he may leave, he tells CNN he “stays fighting” because he “could be useful here.”
“I made Molotov cocktails,” he said. “I have excellent rifles. I am a hunter with 40 years of experience. I’ll stay”.
A former paratrooper of the air assault battalion of the Soviet Army, he boasts of a star-shaped medal that he carries with him in his coat pocket.
According to him, he “hates” the invading Russian troops because of what they are doing to his city and his family, as well as because they are ruthlessly bombing the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, where another is trapped. his grandson.
Another city besieged by Russia is Mariupol, about 200 kilometers south of Zaporozhye, where fuel, food and water are running out. Several attempts at evacuation corridors to help civilians escape failed after Russian forces continued to fire down those routes, according to Ukrainian officials.
Many residents of Zaporozhye fear that their city may suffer the same fate.
Sergei and Alena Samkov, who have two young daughters, said they decided to leave a few days ago.
“When Russian troops approached the Zaporozhye region, I decided it was best to get my family out (before) they entered the city itself,” said 30-year-old Sergei. “Because we know that in some cities, such as Mariupol, evacuation is not possible. We don’t want to wait until we have the same situation.”
Knowing that she had a long journey ahead of her and might eventually have to cross the last stretch of the Polish border on foot, Alena traveled light, taking only a stroller and food and drink supplies for her two daughters, 6-year-old Elina and 7-year-old . monthly Emilia. Elina was also allowed to bring her only soft toy, a bright yellow duck named Luff Luff.
But despite their desperate desire to leave, for the past two days the family has been unable to find a seat on the train.
“We weren’t allowed in even though we had a child,” says Alena, 35. “We lifted it, but people were pushing each other and we couldn’t do it.”
On Saturday, some of the waiters finally lost hope and turned around, dragging suitcases on wheels along the station platform.
Nearby, ashy-faced men who have said goodbye indefinitely to their wives and children face uncertainty about what might happen to their families on the long journey west, as well as the looming threat of an invasion of their city by Russian troops.
But many remain defiant and ready to fight.
“The main thing for me is to spend my family,” said Sergey Samkov. “I will defend our city (and) help the territorial defense forces. I will stay here until the end.”