BUDAPEST, HUNGARY --
To Olena, it appears like Vladimir Putin has been chasing her for years.
Fed up with Putin's authorities, the Russian citizen left her native nation six years in the past and moved to Ukraine, the place she helped elevate funds for girls and youngsters whose houses had been destroyed in years of combating between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists within the Donbas area.
Then, this week, she was on the transfer once more -- fleeing her adopted dwelling of Kyiv forward of Putin's invaders.
"It seems like I am a double refugee now as a result of first I fled from Russia as a result of I used to be towards Putin," mentioned Olena, who spoke provided that she be recognized solely by her first identify for worry of reprisals towards her or her household. "I fled from Russia, after which Russia got here to Ukraine."
Olena and 5 colleagues left Kyiv after three nights in a bomb shelter, the thuds of explosions reverberating. They arrived in Hungary on Thursday after a harrowing, three-day flight.
Seated on a prepare within the Hungarian border city of Zahony earlier than departing for the capital of Budapest, Olena mentioned she had participated in anti-Putin protests in Russia, however got here to comprehend that "Putin will simply rule for so long as he lives. So I selected to vote with my legs and go away."
She moved to Ukraine, she mentioned, as a result of she was impressed by the Maidan revolution of 2014, when sustained protests pressured the ouster of Ukraine's Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych.
"So long as Putin is in energy, I'll by no means return," she mentioned.
However now, Ukraine was now not an possibility, both -- for her or for the a whole lot of different refugees who boarded the prepare for the five-hour journey from the border to Budapest. Dozens of volunteers greeted them, providing meals, transportation and lodging.
Olena was grateful to be in pleasant territory, however the future appeared unsure. "I've no dwelling, I do not know what I am gonna do. I simply should hope," she mentioned.
She misplaced entry to her cash after Ukraine blocked the financial institution accounts of Russian residents, fearing they'd be used to finance Russia's assault on the nation.
"I perceive their causes, as a result of they're afraid that Russians will use this cash to combat. However I am only a civilian. I simply misplaced all my earnings, I misplaced all my supply of cash, and I misplaced my checking account, simply due to this Russian passport," she mentioned.
That passport, she mentioned, triggered her issues on the journey from Kyiv. Some Ukrainians expressed hostility, associating her with the enemy.
However she confused that many Russians, at dwelling and overseas, oppose the conflict, and she or he hopes "folks would separate the federal government from frequent folks that do not need to combat."
"Ukrainians are like a brother folks," she mentioned. "We won't combat amongst one another. Putin is the true enemy. When Putin got here to energy, I did not like him however I did not understand the entire scale of his madness."
On Thursday, Olena and her colleagues got a spot to remain in a leafy suburb of Budapest. It's a welcome respite.
"We do not hear explosions anymore. We do not hear sirens each two hours, when we've to pack our issues and rush to the bomb shelter," she mentioned. "Once we crossed the border it was such a aid that we're alive and we're protected."
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Balazs Kaufmann in Zahony, Hungary, contributed to this report.
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