Trains no longer run to Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region - part of the Donbas claimed in its entirety by Russia's President Vladimir Putin. It's another sign of the steady Russian advance.
Instead, the last station is now on the western side of the Donetsk border. This is where civilians and soldiers wait for a ride towards relative safety - their train to get out of Dodge.
Putin has been sounding more bullish since the leak of US proposals to end the war, widely seen as being in tune with his maximalist demands. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says territory remains the most difficult issue facing US-led peace talks.
At the last station on the line, soldier Andrii and his girlfriend Polina are parting after an all-too-brief time together. Andrii has to return to the front and they don't know when they'll see each other again.
He laughs when I mention peace talks, which have seen Donald Trump's envoys speak to Ukrainian negotiators before heading to Moscow, and dismisses them as 'chatter, just chatter'. He doesn't think the war will be over soon.
There is scepticism among other soldiers who board the train west for a brief respite from the fighting. Russian forces now control some 85% of the Donbas, made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. Ukraine said fighting was continuing in the city of Pokrovsk.
Denys, who has been in the Ukrainian army for the past two years, voices the sentiment of despair: 'everyone's drained, everyone's tired mentally and physically'. A worrying picture emerges as the forces face relentless drone attacks.
'Nobody will give Putin the Donbas. No way, it's our land,' he insists amidst a weary but steadfast camaraderie.
Yevheniy and his wife Maryna just arrived from Kramatorsk with their children. She expresses her frustration, stating, 'It's getting harder and harder to even go outside. Everything is dangerous.' With doubts surrounding the peace talks, many are left wondering whether compromises would truly bring safety.
In contrast, some civilians express a willingness to relinquish territory for the sake of peace, weighing the very real physical threats they face every day. Inna, fleeing with her five children, prioritizes their safety, stating, 'The main thing is that there will be peace.'
However, the harsh realities continue. Nearly 300,000 cases of desertion among soldiers reveal a troubling trend, and many still wonder if Ukraine can win against a numerically superior Russian force.
