Dual Citizenship Ballerina Released from Russian Prison

American-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina was released from a Russian prison in exchange for German-Russian Arthur Petrov on Thursday morning.

Karelina was taken into custody over a year ago, was charged with treason against the Russian government when she donated $51 to a charity, which was allegedly supporting Ukraine in February 2022. Karelina was arrested in January 2024 and was serving a 12-year sentence in a penal colony.

In 2023, Petrov was charged for illegally exporting microelectronics with US military applications to Russia.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X, “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. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”

By - FZ