Russian citizen was also released by the United States in an exchange that had the direct involvement of the CIA
Ballerina Ksenia Karelina is on her way home, after spending a year detained in Russia for donating 36 euros to a charity association that supports Ukraine.
Citizen with double American and Russian nationality had been sentenced last year to a 12-year prison sentence for “betrayal,” but was eventually released in a prisoners exchange between the United States and Russia on Thursday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi.
Arrested in February 2024 in the city of Ecaterimburgo, the 34 -year -old dancer eventually confessed to blame in August, ended up sentenced to 12 years.
Ksenia Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, confirmed on Instagram social network that her client is already on her way to the United States.
Shortly there was the turn of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to announce that the dancer had been released.
“[Ksenia Karelina] It was wrongly detained by Russia for over a year. President Trump has secured his release… We will continue to work to release all Americans, ”wrote the official on social networks.
Born in Russia, the dancer eventually moved to the United States in 2012, eventually obtaining US nationality in 2021.
Living in Los Angeles since then returned to Russia in early 2024 to see the family, but was eventually detained by the Russian authorities.
The Russian Federal Security Service said that Ksenia Karelina contributed proactively with money to Ukrainian organizations, justifying her detention with that same crime of “betrayal.”
The same service indicated that the donation “served to buy medical groceries, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukraine Armed Forces.” The amount of the donation, it is recalled, was 36 euros.
On the contrary, the United States released Arthur Petrov, a citizen with double German and Russian nationality who had been detained in 2023 for exporting data from microelectronics.
The US State Department confirmed, after the detention, that the man had been convicted of participating in a scheme that would serve to provide microelelectronics to manufacturers who work directly with the Russian army.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the CIA director was directly involved in the conversations for the exchange of prisoners.
