i am ready to hear children cry and say, mom, i am scared to die. it gives me the creeps to hear them say. [end of translation] russian forces have captured her a few miles in the north. pounding nearby towns with artillery and rocket. they are slowly advancing south near sloviansk and the city of kramatorsk, russia s aim is to capture this territory. if it wants to do so, it needs to overrun this landscape. maria is headed to [inaudible] about three miles from the russian forces and heavy shelling. i she ignores aerate siren. her family is hanging on in their homes. and she is bringing the food, on arrival, good news, they agreed to pull out. a last run in the springtime garden for the two kids who ignore the tone sirens. [interpreter] my sister woke up this morning
and said we had to leave, so we packed up. we didn t want to leave until the last minute, but then something made us want to, so we had to. it s an emotional wrench, but it is a relief. the importance of groups like maria are part of a got here in the frontline villages is not just humanitarian its political. it s about trying to hold on to as much ukrainian government territory as is possible for as long as is possible. the lessons from bucha and other towns captured by russia is that many civilians may not survive occupation. a neighbor s frightened and confused, still refusing to go. she has a job at the local power plant, joining ukraine s millions of refugees, risks a life ot for poverty. [interpreter] it s simply genocide of the ukrainian people. i don t know how else to explain it to you. [interpreter] we re not planning to leave
offenses. they are trying to take kramatorsk and sloviansk in the eye east region while blocking kharkiv. life is becoming increasingly more difficult, you can imagine for ukrainians, who have stayed behind. as russian forces continue spreading across the country, our reporter spoke with one woman who is trying to convince others to leave and doing all she can to help those who refuse. a 21, maria stern is a war veteran. she s been up volunteer on ukraine s front line in the donbas for five years. for today, she is delivering medicine and food to villages within range of russian artillery. a new phase in vladimir putin s invasion of ukraine is underway. and, it s sometimes hard to understand why people stay in frontline villages. [interpreter] i m asking people specific question.