A significant development has emerged from the recent US-Russia prisoner swap, with the release of Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American citizen. Karelina, an amateur ballerina residing in Los Angeles, had been imprisoned in Russia for over a year following her arrest during a family visit to Yekaterinburg in early 2024.
Background of the case
During her time in Russia, Karelina was accused by the FSB, the Russian security service, of allegedly raising funds for a Ukrainian organization purportedly involved in supplying arms to the Ukrainian military. Last August, she pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 12 years in prison. Human rights activists have indicated that Karelina’s only financial transaction linked to Ukraine was a single donation of $51 (£39) made on February 22, 2022—the very day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The organization she donated to has publicly denied claims of raising money for military purposes, asserting its commitment to humanitarian aid and disaster relief initiatives. It is believed that the FSB located the transfer on Karelina’s phone, leading to her subsequent charges.
Details of the prisoner swap
The recent swap took place in Abu Dhabi during the early hours of Thursday, where the United States released Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023 for allegedly exporting microelectronics to Russia for military use.
“President Trump secured her release. [The President] will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”
President Vladimir Putin was reported to have pardoned Karelina as part of the exchange. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that she was “on a plane back home to the United States” and emphasized that she had been “wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe was reportedly present during the exchange.
This latest swap marks the second such event between the US and Russia in less than two months, following the release of Alexander Vinnik, a Russian citizen imprisoned in the US for money laundering, in exchange for American schoolteacher Marc Fogel. The exchanges occur amidst ongoing efforts by both nations to enhance diplomatic relations, with US and Russian officials scheduled to meet in Istanbul for discussions aimed at restoring embassy operations that were scaled back after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict.