Russia Frees Woman Jailed For Donating $51 To Ukraine In US Prisoner Swap

By RFE/RL

Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who was imprisoned in Russia for donating $51 to a US-based Ukrainian aid charity, is on her way to the United States as part of a prisoner swap for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen who allegedly exported sensitive microelectronics.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Karelina’s release in a social media post on April 10. Russia's security service, the FSB, confirmed that Petrov was the Russian citizen being held in a US jail who was released in the exchange.

The swap marks the second such exchange between Washington and Moscow since US President Donald Trump took the office in January.

A 33-year-old former ballet dancer, Karelina moved to the United States in 2015, married a US citizen, and received US citizenship in 2021.

Karelina's lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, confirmed his client's release, saying the exchange occurred in Abu Dhabi.

“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 said in his post.

Karelina was found guilty last year of treason by a Russian court in Yekaterinburg for transferring money to a US-based Ukrainian aid charity in early 2022.

Petrov, 34, was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the US.

The US Justice Department alleged that Petrov had participated “in a scheme to procure US-sourced microelectronics for manufacturers supplying weaponry and other equipment to the Russian military.”

The Wall Street Journal quoted an unidentified CIA official as saying CIA Director John Ratcliffe conducted the talks to clinch the swap, which was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

Abu Dhabi was the site of another prisoner swap between Russia and the US. In December 2022, US basketball star Brittney Griner was swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The United Arab Emirates has also been a mediator in prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia and the US conducted the prisoner swap as delegations from the two countries arrived in Istanbul for talks on normalizing the work of their diplomatic missions.

In February, the US released a confessed Russian cybercriminal, Aleksandr Vinnik, in return for the American teacher Marc Fogel.