Like any shed-like supermarket, you see people parking, grabbing carts and food from the aisles. Alternatively, if you have spent time there in the last four weeks, you will have seen thousands of people in overcrowded vehicles enter the parking lot, climb through the door and look around in disbelief. Latest updates on the war in Ukraine The supermarket has been converted into a stopover for 60,000 people fleeing the country’s southeast. Picture: The Epicenter supermarket in Zaporizhzhia Picture: The supermarket has been turned into a station for 60,000 people leaving the southeastern part of the country It is not an easy trip to Epikentro. Most spend days trying to reach Zaporizhzhia – the city is their first stop on Ukrainian-controlled territory. For the residents of Mariupol, the supermarket has become a beacon of light after weeks of living in the ruins of their city. It is estimated that 100,000 or more are still trapped in the rubble, and efforts by local government officials and international NGOs to organize evacuation convoys have largely failed. A convoy of buses arrived in the Russian-controlled city of Berdyansk, bringing more than 2,300 back to Zaporizhia, but efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross to transport 54 vehicles to Mariupol have failed. An ICRC spokesman said the parties were unable to “provide the necessary security conditions and guarantees”. Picture: Zaporizhzhia is their first stop on Ukrainian-controlled territories For the most part, those people who manage to escape have participated in their own “do it yourself” evacuations. Some have cars or know someone with a vehicle and there are others who have been chased away by brave volunteers. We met a mother of two named Maria Zimmerman, who owns a hit van and a great sense of duty. He drives to Mariupol to pick up the sick and wounded while driving a convoy of citizens out of town. As a former resident, he says he knows exactly what they are going through. Image: The supermarket has become a beacon of light “Did you drive to Mariupol?” I asked as she got out of her white van. “Yes,” she replied, in a real way. “This is very brave.” “Yes, but this is not the first time,” he added. “Did you get permission from the Russian army to enter the city?” I asked. “No, it was my decision, but when I was sitting with my husband and children in a shelter, we promised each other that we would help people like us.” Image: It is believed that 100,000 or more are still trapped in Mariupol Read more: Sky News team’s horrific report on their violent ambush in Ukraine I asked Maria about the trip she had just completed. “Entering Mariupol is really scary because they are carrying out a military broom. The Chechens are there, his (Ramzan) Kadyrov children are scary. “I drove wounded, wounded by the bombing and it was really difficult. (Russian soldiers) check everything and they took our phones and our money, so yes, it was inconvenient.” With that, she smiled and returned to the van, but a member of her entourage, named Katerina, said she needed to add something. Subscribe now to Storycast 21 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Spreaker “Thank you very much Maria, we could not go out alone, we do not know the road, there are no signs (road), we drove under the bombings, around minefields, I just want to greet her.” “She is really brave and leads alone, in front of a column of male drivers.” “Could you do that?” she asked.
