Claiming the capital. matt rivers is outfront. reporter: outgoing fire from a frozen foxhole. not far from the flaming pieces of an exploding armored vehicle. as the quiet still of a nighttime bunker is shattered by what the soldier says was a direct hit right nearby. this is what happened in the tiny town just northwest of ukraine s capital city. it was here as much as anywhere else that the battle of kyiv was won. by early march, russian forces had flooded south, ukraine s seat of power in its sights. it arrived just west there, occupying that entire area. the irpin river, the only thing between them and the town where ukraine would make its stand. is it strange to just walk through this area now, you know, when it s safe? he says, what s strange was being here when all hell broke