A Russian-American woman has been released in a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. Ksenia Karelina, an amateur ballerina from Los Angeles, had spent over a year in a Russian prison. She was arrested in early 2024 while visiting family in Yekaterinburg.
Karelina faced serious charges from Russia’s FSB security service. They accused her of raising funds for a Ukrainian organization that was allegedly supplying arms to the Ukrainian military. This accusation stemmed from a single donation of $51 she made on the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 22, 2022. Karelina pleaded guilty last August and received a 12-year prison sentence.
Human rights activists in Russia have pointed out that the charity she donated to claimed it only provided humanitarian aid and disaster relief, not weapons. The FSB reportedly found evidence of the transaction on her phone.
In a deal that saw Karelina freed, the U.S. released Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen. Petrov had been arrested in Cyprus in 2023 for allegedly exporting microelectronics to Russia, which could be used for military purposes.
The prisoner swap occurred in Abu Dhabi early Thursday morning. Russian news agency TASS reported that President Vladimir Putin pardoned Karelina. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed her release, stating she had been "wrongfully detained" for more than a year. He also mentioned that former President Trump played a role in securing her freedom.
Karelina’s parents expressed their gratitude to both Trump and Putin, sharing their overwhelming joy at her return. Her father described their first conversation after her release as an emotional moment filled with happiness.
This swap marks the second such exchange between the U.S. and Russia in less than two months. In February, another swap involved Russian national Alexander Vinnik, who was released in exchange for American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.
As both nations look to improve their strained relations, U.S. and Russian officials recently met in Istanbul to discuss restoring embassy operations that had been reduced since the Ukraine invasion.