US-Russian dual national jailed over Ukraine donation released in prisoner swap.
Moscow has freed a Russian-American woman convicted of treason in exchange for a Russian-German man jailed on smuggling charges in the US, a prisoner swap that was completed on Thursday as the two countries met to repair ties.
Ksenia Karelina is “on a plane back home to the United States,” US secretary of state Marco Rubio said in a post on social media platform X.
She was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and convicted of treason on charges stemming from a donation of about 52 dollars (£40) to a charity helping Ukraine.
US authorities have called the case “absolutely ludicrous”.
Arthur Petrov was released as part of a swap in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, according to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia’s main security and counterintelligence agency.
Mr Petrov was arrested in Cyprus in August 2023 at the request of the US on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia and extradited to the US a year later.
Ms Karelina was among a growing number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the war in Ukraine.
Her release is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the US carried out in the last three years — and the second since President Donald Trump took office and reversed Washington’s policy of isolating Russia in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.
Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina getting on a private jet after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (WAM via AP)
CIA director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that the agency played “a key role engaging with Russian intelligence”.
“The exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship,” it said.
Meanwhile, Russian and US diplomats met in Istanbul for a second round of talks on normalising embassies’ work following the first such meeting in February.
The State Department said the delegations “exchanged notes to finalise an understanding to ensure the stability of diplomatic banking for Russian and US bilateral missions”.
It said the US reiterated its concerns about the Russian ban on hiring of local staff, “the key impediment to maintaining for stable and sustainable staffing levels at the US Embassy in Moscow.”
In February, Russia released American teacher Marc Fogel, imprisoned on drug charges, in a swap that the White House described as part of a diplomatic thaw that could advance peace negotiations.
That same month, Russia released another American just days after arresting him on drug smuggling charges.
Ms Karelina, a former ballet dancer also identified in some media as Ksenia Khavana, lived in Maryland before moving to Los Angeles. She was arrested when she returned to Russia to visit her family last year.
Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia (AP)
The 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 dollar donation to a US charity aiding Ukraine.
Ms Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said on Instagram that she had been in touch with her family since her release.
“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Ms Karelina’s fiance, Chris van Heerden, said in a statement. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”
He thanked Trump and his envoys, as well as prominent public figures who had championed her case.
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on X that “President Trump and his administration continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families”.
The exchange was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Ms Karelina was headed to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
The United Arab Emirates’s state-run news agency released photos of Ms Karelina boarding a plane and one of her standing next to Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the US.
The FSB, which said President Vladimir Putin had pardoned Ms Karelina before the swap, released a video showing her being escorted to a plane somewhere in Russia.
Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the US, left, standing next to Ksenia Karelina after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi (AP)
The footage then featured of what appeared to be the scene of exchange at the Abu Dhabi airport, with Mr Petrov walking off a plane and shaking hands with Russian officials on the tarmac.
The same video showed Mr Petrov undergoing medical check-ups on a flight to Russia.
“I have no particular complaints, just a bit tired,” he said.
Mr Petrov was accused by the US Justice Department of involvement in a scheme to procure microelectronics subject to US export controls on behalf of a Russia-based supplier of critical components for the country’s weapons industries. He was facing a 20-year prison term in the US.
Abu Dhabi was the scene of another high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the United States.
In December 2022, American basketball star Brittney Griner was traded for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
The UAE has been a mediator in prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, while the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai has become home to many Russians and Ukrainian who fled there after the start of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
