A Russian-American citizen has been launched in a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.
Beginner ballerina Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles resident, had been in jail in Russia for over a yr, after being arrested within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg in early 2024.
She was discovered responsible of treason for donating cash to a US-based charity offering humanitarian assist to Ukraine and was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony.
In trade, the US reportedly freed Arthur Petrov, a twin German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023. He was accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia for producers working with the Russian navy.
The prisoner swap passed off in Abu Dhabi within the early hours of Thursday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Ms Karelina was “on a airplane again dwelling to the USA.”
He added she had been “wrongfully detained by Russia for over a yr”.
“President Trump secured her launch. [The President] will proceed to work for the discharge of ALL People.”
CIA director John Ratcliffe was current on the trade, the Wall Avenue Journal stated.
It’s the second prisoner swap between Russia and the US in lower than two months.
In February, Russian nationwide Alexander Vinnik – who was imprisoned in a US jail on cash laundering costs – was freed in trade for the discharge of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.
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