U.S.-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina has been released from Russian custody after a prisoner swap was negotiated with Vladimir Putin’s top officials.
Karelina, a 33-year-old living in Los Angeles who became a U.S. citizen in 2021, was first detained while visiting relatives in Yekaterinburg, her Russian hometown. She was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony after being convicted of treason in the country last year over a donation worth around $50 to a Ukrainian-American charity.
She was handed over to U.S. authorities in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, early Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal. In exchange, the U.S. released Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023 and accused by the U.S. Justice Department of allegedly illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia, where they were used to make Russian military equipment.
Petrov faced charges of export control violations, smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering.
Karelina was met at the airport in the Gulf state by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, the Journal reports.
“Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia,” Ratcliffe said in a statement given to the paper. “I’m proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort, and we appreciate the Government of UAE for enabling the exchange.”
Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official reportedly thrashed out the terms of the deal. Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman, has spoken with the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service and the chief of Russia’s foreign intelligence service several times since he was confirmed as Trump’s CIA boss in late January, according to the Journal.
“The exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship,” a CIA spokeswoman told the newspaper. “While we are disappointed that other Americans remain wrongfully detained in Russia, we see this exchange as a positive step and will continue to work for their release.”
“American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X. “She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”
In February, Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel returned home after being held for nearly four years in a Russian prison on charges of drug trafficking.
Fogel was arrested in 2021 when customs agents at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside of Moscow found half an ounce of marijuana in his luggage, which was prescribed to him to treat chronic back pain.
In 2022, Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony. Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik was released by the U.S. in return.
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