US ballerina Ksenia Karelina freed from Russian jail in prisoner swap

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A U.S. ballerina jailed for 12 years in Russia after donating $51 to a charity supporting Ukraine has been freed, according to her lawyer and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ksenia Karelina was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February last year after returning to Russia to visit her family.

On Thursday, Mr Rubio confirmed that she had been released and was on a plane home to the U.S in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Karelina was freed as part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia, negotiated between the CIA and senior Russian intelligence officials.

Her plane left Abu Dhabi, where the exchange is taking place, early in the morning, her Russian lawyer Mikhail Mushailov said.

The UAE has a history of brokering prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, as well as overseeing another Russia-U.S. high-profile swap in Abu Dhabi in December 2022.

Many Russians and Ukrainians fled to Dubai after the start of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ksenia Karelina was jailed after donating money to support Ukraine (AP)

“Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told the Wall Street Journal.

“I’m proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort, and we appreciate the Government of U.A.E. for enabling the exchange.”

In exchange a dual German-Russian citizen, Arthur Petrov, was freed. He was arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the U.S. for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.

Karelina obtained US citizenship in 2021 after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles, where she worked at a spa.

Russia’s FSB security service had claimed she “proactively collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organisations, which was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces”.

The charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a US charity aiding Ukraine, according to the Russian rights group The First Department.

The U.S. authorities have called the case against her “absolutely ludicrous”.

The swap comes after Karelina’s partner, former boxer champion Chris Van Heerden, advocated for her release on The Megyn Kelly Show yesterday.

Van Heerden claimed that American film director Peter Berg and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White campaigned for her return, including making a call to the US government. The Independent could not verify his claims.

More follows on this breaking news story….