American Ballet Dancer Free of Russia in Prisoner Change, Rubio Confirms
Washington, D.C. – April 10, 2025 – Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian twin citizen and ballet dancer, has been launched from a Russian jail in a dramatic in a single day prisoner alternate, Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced early Thursday. Karelina, who had been serving a 12-year sentence in a penal colony on treason expenses, landed again on U.S. soil simply hours in the past, marking the newest high-profile swap between Washington and Moscow underneath the Trump administration.
Rubio broke the information in an announcement at 2:00 a.m. PDT, saying, “American Ksenia Karelina is on a aircraft again house to the US. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a yr, and President Trump secured her launch.” The alternate, which occurred in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, concerned undisclosed Russian nationals held in U.S. custody, although the Kremlin has but to substantiate their identities. Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, confirmed her launch to reporters, calling it a “hard-fought victory” after months of negotiations.
Karelina, 33, was arrested in February 2024 in Yekaterinburg whereas visiting household. Russian authorities accused her of treason for donating $51.80 to Razom, a New York-based charity supporting Ukraine, shortly after Russia’s invasion started in 2022. The FSB claimed the funds had been used to purchase tactical provides for Ukraine’s navy—a cost Razom denied. Karelina, a Los Angeles resident who gained U.S. citizenship in 2021, pleaded responsible in a closed trial in August 2024, receiving a 12-year sentence that sparked outrage within the U.S. White Home spokesperson John Kirby had known as it “vindictive cruelty” over “50 bucks.”
The swap comes amid a flurry of diplomatic exercise, following Trump’s pledge to deliver house Individuals detained overseas. It echoes final month’s launch of Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania trainer freed after three years in Russia. Sources recommend Karelina’s inclusion on a prisoner alternate listing—confirmed by her lawyer in November 2024—gained traction after Trump’s crew prioritized her case. The deal, brokered with the assistance of UAE mediators, displays a thaw in U.S.-Russia backchannel talks, at the same time as tensions over Ukraine persist.
Karelina’s boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, who campaigned tirelessly for her freedom, expressed aid on social media: “She’s coming house. Thanks to everybody who stored her story alive.” Her return caps a 14-month ordeal that noticed her moved to a penal colony after an enchantment failed in November. Whereas particulars of the alternate stay sparse, Rubio hailed it as a testomony to “President Trump’s dedication to bringing our individuals again, regardless of the fee.”
The discharge provides to a string of swaps, together with the August 2024 alternate that freed Wall Road Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan. But, with different Individuals like musician Travis Leake nonetheless detained in Russia, advocates say extra work stays. For now, Karelina’s homecoming gives a uncommon vivid spot in U.S.-Russia relations, spotlighting the facility of quiet diplomacy in a fractured world.
