Woman jailed over $52 donation to Kyiv set free

AP MOSCOW

A US-Russian dual national ballerina  imprisoned in Russia on treason charges was freed Thursday in a prisoner exchange with Washington, the woman's lawyer and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Ksenia Karelina, identified in the media as Ksenia Khavana, is "on a plane back home to the United States", Rubio said in a post on X. She was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and convicted of treason later that year on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine.

The US authorities have called the case against her "absolutely ludicrous". Karelina, a former ballet dancer, reportedly obtained US citizenship after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles. She was arrested when she returned to Russia to visit her family last year.

Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, accused her of "proactively" collecting money for a Ukrainian organization that was supplying gear to Kyiv's forces. The First Department, a Russian rights group, said the charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a US charity aiding Ukraine.

Karelina's lawyer Mikhail Mushailov said on Instagram that she was flying to the  US from Abu Dhabi, where the exchange took place. It was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing a statement from CIA director John Ratcliffe, who it said was on hand for the exchange at an airport in Abu Dhabi.