Ksenia Karelina, an amateur ballerina and Russian-American citizen residing in Los Angeles, has been released from a Russian prison following a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. Karelina had been imprisoned in Yekaterinburg since early 2024, where she was convicted of treason after donating funds to a US-based charity that supports humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Her sentence amounted to 12 years in a penal colony.
In exchange for Karelina's release, the US freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen who was detained in Cyprus in 2023. Petrov faced accusations of illegally exporting microelectronics that were allegedly intended for Russian military manufacturers.
The prisoner exchange occurred in Abu Dhabi early Thursday morning, marking a crucial diplomatic development between the two nations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Karelina was "on a plane back home to the United States" and emphasized her wrongful detention by Russia over the past year. He assured that President Trump remains dedicated to advocating for the release of all Americans wrongfully held abroad.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, according to the Wall Street Journal, was present for the exchange. This incident is the second prisoner swap between the US and Russia in a matter of months, with a previous exchange in February involving the release of Russian national Alexander Vinnik, who was serving time in the US for money laundering, in return for American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.
