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>> a special cnn report. ♪ ♪ >> how would you react? where would you go? if you woke up one morning to war on your doorstep. >> this is completely in ruins. ♪ ♪ >> for more than a year now, no matter where you turn, pollutants terror can find you. yet despite all of the suffering, -- >> this is where they make the

molotov cocktails. >> the people of ukraine are still standing. still fighting, and some say even winning. >> the ukrainians took this entire area back in september. >> this is ukraine today. >> freedom matters, peace moderns. ukraine matters. >> these are the people who have defied the odds. >> we are fighting for our freedom. >> how are they doing it, and at what cost? >> take your time if you want to take a break. ♪ ♪ >> we had to get ready for everything, anything. ♪

>> the kyiv central station, the nerve center of -- ukraine's 16,000 miles sprawling rail system. nearly one year ago, this ordinary transit hub was anything but. >> is russian forces advanced toward the city, scenes of chaos and heartbreak flooded the station's platforms. many others like it across the country. families were wrenched apart. father sent their wives and children to safety.

>> there is definitely an intensification, an urgency as people are trying to get out of the country, out of the city. >> in all, nearly 4 million people raced to the railroad to escape the war unfolding around them. making this already vital service essential lifelines for ukrainians. ♪ ♪ >> today, things look very different, it is orthodox christmas in ukraine. keith is no longer under immediate threat. many ukrainians have now returned to their homes. this is still a country at war.

it is still very much the backbone of ukraine's warrant -- war effort. at just 38 years old, the railroads proud ceo has one main goal, the trains must always keep running. >> this war is changing. all the time. now we have to think in advance and get ready for everything, anything. >> when russia began its ruthless winter campaign targeting ukraine's critical infrastructure, alexander and his team were ready with nearly 10,000 wood-burning stoves. >> you literally have iron stoves. to keep people warm. >> yep.

>> as soon as territory is liberated, train service is restored. when a shell hits the tracks, maintenance workers are out within hours to start repairs. >> how hard do you put yourself on your front and pushed the people who work for you? >> 100%. you can call it an obsession. ♪ ♪ >> your employees are the employees of the railway. they have been called on people. obviously, that is something that predates the war. and you look at the response of your employees, do you think that is an apt characterization of them? >> may be. >> there are people who spend months in the trains come on the stations.

>> i have been meeting my people across the hill country. thousands of times. i have been shaking their hands , saying thanks for what you do. i'm saying that genuinely from my heart. we are just doing our job, nothing special.

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>> the neighbors do not treat you like this. nearly constant shelling by the russians have left a trail of death and destruction throughout this region. the once a bustling residential suburb now a gram memorial to the carnage. the last time we were here, it was just getting smashed by russian artillery every day. 300,000 people roughly needs to live in this area. since the beginning of the war, italy became the front line. even now coming back here, you are just starting to see little hints of life re-emerging.

one resident told me this was her first time back since the bombing. months later, she is still haunted by the violence. >> back in april, our team witnessed some of the terror firsthand. >> maria! maria, come on! come over here! go, go. >> we were just in an apartment building. they were looking for an

injured man. a bunch came in and hit the next-door building, so now we are getting out as fast as we can >> the incoming fire continued. the paramedics alerted us. -- kept searching for the injured man. soon, they found him just in time to save his life. on our return eight months later, i knew that our first stop had to be here. >> oh my god. >> how are you? i live! healthy! we are alive, exactly. >> thankfully, miraculously,

the pair is alive and well. although these guys are much quieter -- >> her that you are now doctors. >> like a residency. >> that is amazing. i don't know anyone who in a middle of a war also manages to finish medical school. this is, like, not normal. >> the following night, i had to meet the paramedics for dinner. >> they are struck by the cities eerie darkness. russia's continued attack on the power grid have made electricity a precious resource. another sign that life here is still far from normal. >> hi! >> inside, i am greeted with

the typical ukrainian warmth, food, and laughter. as we chat alongside alexandra's husband and mother, it quickly became clear that one year later, while the war has changed, these brave ukrainians have not. >> i guess the question becomes, the situation is obviously a lot quieter than it was before. the war is not over. how do you keep up hope they're still a long road ahead? >> we believe in victory. >> did you ever doubt that? that ukraine would ultimately win? no, never. no.

>> everything is exactly what these young ukrainians have given to the fight. a young child headed west to a safer part of the country, he stayed put. >> has it been hard to be separated from your family? >> yeah. >> it is a big part of ukraine's success. almost every ukrainian seems to feel -- i often think about, would it be the same in america? would it be the same in england? >> should we have a toast? >> yes. >> to ukraine. >> cheers! thank you so much. >> the next morning, just a short drive outside the ,

today, over 100 in the coffins have arrived. volunteers on load them onto a playground next to a bombed out school. in a few weeks when the ground defrosted, the villagers would resume an untold number of dead bodies they suspect are streaming through the town. finally, the dead will be identified. laid to rest with proper burial. it is here in the village that we may volunteer -- and native who had lived and worked in moscow since the 90s. in her previous life, she was a renowned well scientists. since february 24th, she>> in t

>> just take a look what they did to us. i'll be moving slowly. i want you to have time to see. to see how my town looks now. >> did you have any conversations in the early days of the war with any of your russian friends? >> plenty. >> what were they saying? >> they are scared. they are desperate. one of them said that the blood was running down his face, and neither of their grandchildren would be able to -- and blood from their faces.

>> they tell me, maybe you take your mom and moved to moscow. it is safe or not. i just said to them, do you think your grandmother would go to berlin during the second war the war? do you? moscow is the fastest berlin to us now. >> tell me about the beginning of the war. were you afraid? >> not for a second. not for a second. >> i was in the square. we were so tired by the end of the day. i didn't think about anything. i didn't have emotion. i was is working, working, working. >> nearly one year later, she is still working. >> today, that means helping ordinary people, local

humanitarian groups, distributing aid to villagers still without power. blankets, beds, and a heater. anything to help survive a winter amidst the rubble. at this stage of the war, she has spent most of her days spent sorting badly needed surprise supplies for ukrainian soldiers. she was part of this incredible counteroffensive push the russians out. there has been a lot of talk now about, could there be another sense that the russians are planning? are you feel full at all? >> we all understand that we are volunteers. we are helping the community. to say that i am not afraid would be silly. i don't want to slow death,

like being tortured. otherwise, we are use to think that you had to live today, and then tomorrow, it will show us our future. >> one day at a time. >> yup. yeah. >> when we return, -- >> did you understand the danger of what you were doing if you are caught? >> the second secret group of spies under russian occupation. i'm calling my doctor. if it's covid, paxlovid. authorized for emergency use, paxlovid is an oral treatment for people 12 and up... who have mild-to-moderate covid-19 and have a high-risk factor for it becoming severe. my symptoms are mild now, but i'm not waiting. if it's covid, paxlovid. having even one risk factor, like being over 50, diabetes, or smoking increases your chances of severe covid.

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>> the vilillage -- along the river. the far northeast corner of the ukraine region. they use to be a place where people came in the summer to relax. enjoy the water. now, the area is almost unrecognizable. 15 miles from the russian border, it was easily overtaken by russian forces in the early hours of the war. the ukrainians never stop fighting. >> the ukrainians that this

entire area back in september, but it is still incredibly difficult to live here. as you can see, the village has been destroyed. it is actually the ukrainians who destroyed it back in the spring. they did it to stop russian forces from moving into this area. but now, it is a huge challenge for people living on the other side. you really see the great of the ukrainian people living here, walking across the ice. carrying cans to fill with fuel to power their generators, going back and forth to try and get food and supplies so they can continue to live in their homes. >> this is what victory looks like in ukraine. it is grim and it is fragile.

the front lines around this region are still active. this is why we find -- 32-year- old volunteer soldier, heading toward the action. we don't get his last name for his security. >> it is a good feeling. i'm getting back to my brothers who are waiting for me. it is our duty. >> he arrives at the house where his unit is based.

is a few miles from the trenches, but well within the range of russian artillery. >> like many fighting in ukraine, he never imagined he would become a soldier. >> [ speaking non-english ]

>> since the war began, he was a civilian living in -- witnessing russian forces occupying his hometown, he decided he needed to fight back. at the time, he says that men joining a secret network .

>> is a personal fortune. it might be -- the night before his return to the front line. >> these are some of the explosives. wow. >> they are doing these things, they are using them to -- >> oh, to drop them from drones.

>> known as the billionaires battalion, the unit help to push russian forces out of harkey. they lack in traditional training, but they make up for in equipment. >> what is your skill as a business man and enabled you to -- >> this is actually the enterprise. it is created not to -- it is created to kill the enemy. >> has ukraine been so successful in fighting off the world's second largest military? >> we are fighting for our freedom, for our way of life.

they started, so we had to fight. ♪ ♪ >> how many members have you lost? >> if you. a few. >> does her death in some way motivate you? >> to revenge? >> to revenge, to -- >> yeah, of course. we will continue fighting. we will remember all of these people who were with us.

you could manufacture a whole new way of manufacturing. >> are you thinking that in the future, this would be a war that is predominantly fought with drones? >> when we come back, meet the minister who had helped to change the face of this war. te. it changes how you eat, how you feel, and how you enjoy life. it changes your smile and how others smile at you. clearchoice network doctors have changed over 100,000 lives with dental implants, and they can change yours, too. because a clearchoice day changes every day. schedule a free consultation.

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>> people are incredibly affected by the situation. they are frightened, exhausted. >> it is march 5th, just one week into the invasion. the people of the suburb at the doorstep of the capital have already withstood days of russian strikes. >> this bombed out bridges their only opportunity to escape. >> weeks later, putin's pan -- plan had failed.

russian troops are forced to withdraw in the north entirely. >> will not only with -- and bravery. but with creativity. cutting- edge technology. at 32 years old, he is ukraine's youngest minister in charge of digital transformation. a piece of the war puzzle that many argue has been the single biggest game changer of the battlefield. known as algorithmic warfare. >> what is so striking about this war, when you are on the front line, you see people fighting in conditions entrances with artillery and tanks. scenes that are reminiscent of

the first and second ward war. yet at the same time, this is the most technologically sophisticated war that has ever been fought. at what stage did you understand the power that technology could bring? >> after the invasion, he was quick to adapt. he took an app originally developed to allow ukrainians to access records and pay bills online. and transformed it. giving citizens in russian occupied areas a way to provide

>> to be sure ukraine has not transformed a digital battlefield in the rounded to the invasion, support poured in from silicon valley's top tech companies to help the country prepare. >> and what has that support meant to you?

>>, the many companies offering assistance, secretive american software company that got his start working with u.s. intelligence services. alex was the first ceo to meet with president zelenskyy at the russia's invasion. >> this is a culture that is able to perform. >> according to -- most of the military targeting is now done using advanced power software. ukraine has not developed its own situational awareness system similar to -- called delta. another innovation he says has transformed the way wars are fought. he hoped that they are one.

>> are you thinking that in the future this would be a war that is predominantly fought with drones? >> you don't rule out the possibility at that they can catch up? >> coming up, the true cost of putin's war? >> how do you try to understand why russia would do something about that.

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considered a largely safe part of ukraine. but one of the many cruelties of this war is that the longer you survive it, the more it can feel normal, even ordinary. until one day reality comes crashing down. on january 14th the 235th day of putin's war dnipro was hell on earth. in all 46 people were killed including six children after a 2,000-pound russian missile as long as a city bus slammed into this apartment building.

so the blue wall, that's your bathroom. this 24-year-old was at home in bed sleeping. when you look at it now, what do you feel ? killing both of her parents in the kitchen while just inches away nastia clung onto life. for a lot of people it's hard to understand why russia would use this huge missile that's intended to take out an aircraft carrier in a residential area. how do you try to understand why

russia would do something like this? >> i don't understand. >> can you tell me a little bit about your mom and dad, what they were like as people? >> do you ever wonder why you were saved? it's an extraordinary image we see of you surviving the unsurvivable .

>> take your time if you want to take a break. this is not the first grief she's experienced in this war. in september her boyfriend was killed while fighting on the front lines in kharkiv. did you think this might be the man you would marry, that you would start a family with?

you have experienced so much sadness and so much loss. in some ways your story is the story of ukraine, of people who have given so much but who continue to survive. >> that courage and grit have come to define ukraine, and the price has been painfully high.

tens of thousands of lives have been destroyed. estimates suggest it will require close to a trillion dollars to rebuild the country when this is all over. but today the end is still nowhere in sight. back in kharkiv where the damage seems irreparable and the present remains dark, after 365 days of war, the people of ukraine still have hope. >> we saw you from the window. you're the only one here in your building. why?

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