The and carried out a prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi on Thursday that saw US-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina released from a Russian prison in exchange for Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian national.
Karelina’s lawyer confirmed the news Thursday morning.
Karelina, a former ballet dancer, after being convicted in August 2024 of treason for donating around $50 (€45.30) to a charity benefiting Ukraine.
She had obtained US citizenship after moving to Los Angeles and was arrested in January 2024, after returning to Russia to visit family.
Her release is the second US-Russia detainee swap since Trump took office in January.
Trump credited with release
US CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who was in Abu Dhabi to greet Karelina, told the Wall Street Journal newspaper: “Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia. 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.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also confirmed Karelina’s release.
“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,” Rubio wrote on X.
Such acts are being touted as a sign of deepening cooperation between the nations.
Relations were severely damaged when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and communications between them were conducted by each nation’s intelligence services.
Trump has been very public about his desire to more closely align the US and Russia. Thursday’s exchange comes as he seeks to make good on his promise to “end the war in Ukraine.”
The CIA on Thursday said: “The exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship. 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.”
Who were the prisoners exchanged by US and Russia?
Ksenia Karelina, a Beverly Hills beautician and former ballerina who lives in Los Angeles, was arrested in Yekaterinberg, Russia, in early 2024. Karelina was arrested by Russian authorities when she arrived on a family visit according to her boyfriend.
A Russian court found Karelina “guilty of high treason for providing funds to the Ukrainian army,” accounts by friends and family say Karelina donated $51.80 to a non-profit Ukrainian aid organization helping civilians impacted by the war.
Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony.
The second prisoner, Arthur Petrov, was released by the US after Washington requested his arrest in Cyprus in 2023. The US says that Petrov used a small Cyprus-based company as a front for procuring sensitive US microelectronics in order to ship them to Russia. Petrov is said to have purchased the goods under false pretenses, posing as a purchaser for fire security systems, before forwarding them to a St. Petersburg-based Russian military supplier.
His case was pending at the time of his release.
The post Russia frees Ksenia Karelina in prisoner swap with US appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
