A US-Russian dual citizen imprisoned in Russia on treason charges was released Thursday as part of a prisoner exchange, in which a Russian man held in the United States on smuggling charges was sent back to Russia. The swap comes amid ongoing attempts by Washington and Moscow to improve diplomatic relations.
Ksenia Karelina, also known in some media reports as Ksenia Khavana, is "on a plane back home to the United States," according to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a post on X. Karelina was arrested in February 2024 in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains, and later convicted of treason for allegedly donating around $52 to a charity supporting Ukraine—charges U.S. officials have described as “absolutely ludicrous.”
Russia라이브 바카라 Federal Security Service, the country라이브 바카라 main security and counterespionage agency, said that dual Russian-German citizen Arthur Petrov was released as part of a swap. Petrov was arrested in Cyprus in August 2023 at the request of the U.S. on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia and extradited to the U.S. a year later.
Karelina라이브 바카라 release adds to the growing list of Americans detained in Russia in recent years, a trend that has intensified as tensions between Moscow and Washington escalated over the war in Ukraine. Her return marks the latest in a string of high-profile prisoner swaps between the two countries over the past three years—and notably, the second since President Donald Trump took office less than three months ago. Trump has since reversed the previous U.S. policy of isolating Russia, instead pursuing closer engagement aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Russian and US diplomats are meeting in Istanbul for another round of talks focused on strengthening diplomatic ties.
In February, Russia released American teacher Marc Fogel, who had been jailed on drug charges—a move the White House called a sign of a potential diplomatic thaw. That same month, Russia freed another American just days after detaining him on drug smuggling allegations.
