A Russian-American woman, jailed last year in Russia for treason, has been released following a prisoner swap organized between Washington and Moscow.
Los Angeles resident Ksenia Karelina was arrested in 2024 in Yekaterinburg and found guilty of treason after it was revealed that she had made a donation of around $50 to a U.S.-based charity providing humanitarian support to Ukraine.
According to prosecutors, these funds were subsequently used “for the purchase of tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
The spa worker and amateur ballerina was found guilty and handed a 12-year sentence in a penal colony.
Karelina, now 34, was born in Russia but moved to the U.S. in 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021. She returned to Russia in 2024 to visit her 90-year-old grandmother.
Her release was confirmed by the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Writing on X, Rubio said: “American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release.”
He added: “[The president] will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”
The prisoner swap was conducted in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Thursday with the German-Russian citizen Arthur Petrov exchanged in return for Karelina. Petrov was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus for allegedly being involved in a plot aimed at acquiring American-sourced microelectronics for manufacturers working with the Russian military.
According to prosecutors, these funds were subsequently used “for the purchase of tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
The spa worker and amateur ballerina was found guilty and handed a 12-year sentence in a penal colony.
Karelina, now 34, was born in Russia but moved to the U.S. in 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021. She returned to Russia in 2024 to visit her 90-year-old grandmother.
Her release was confirmed by the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Writing on X, Rubio said: “American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release.”
He added: “[The president] will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”
The prisoner swap was conducted in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Thursday with the German-Russian citizen Arthur Petrov exchanged in return for Karelina. Petrov was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus for allegedly being involved in a plot aimed at acquiring American-sourced microelectronics for manufacturers working with the Russian military.
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