by Temitope Oladeji
11/4/2025
In an exceptional diplomatic development, Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina has been released from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States.
Karelina, a Los Angeles-based amateur ballerina, was arrested in early 2024 while visiting her family in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
She had spent over a year in detention after being accused by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) of financially supporting a Ukrainian organization allegedly involved in supplying arms to the Ukrainian military.
In August, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
However, human rights groups in Russia argued that the accusation was based on a single $51 donation Karelina made in February 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The charity in question has denied any involvement in arms procurement, asserting its focus is solely on humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
However, Russian authorities reportedly found evidence of the transaction on her phone.
In exchange for Karelina’s release, the United States freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian national arrested in Cyprus in 2023.
Petrov had been accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russian defense-related manufacturers.
The swap was conducted in the early hours of Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
Prodesq gathered that President Vladimir Putin officially pardoned Karelina ahead of the exchange.
During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, United States President Donald Trump revealed that the initiative to secure Karelina’s release was prompted by a call from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White.
Trump said, “Dana White called me and said she was connected to someone in the UFC. Dana’s an incredible guy, and we spoke to President Putin about it—they made a deal.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Karelina’s safe return. “She’s on a plane home,” he announced.
He added that “President Trump secured her release. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year. This administration remains committed to bringing home all wrongfully detained Americans.”
Prodesq Political Analyst gathered that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was present at the exchange in Abu Dhabi.
Karelina’s family expressed their profound gratitude. “We are beside ourselves with happiness,” her father, Pavel Karelina, said. “It was an explosion of joy when we first spoke, just pure emotion.”
This marks the second high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S. in less than two months.
In February, Russian national Alexander Vinnik, imprisoned in the U.S. on money laundering charges, was exchanged for American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.
The swap coincides with renewed diplomatic engagement between the two nations.
On the same day, U.S. and Russian officials met in Istanbul to discuss reinstating embassy operations that had been scaled back following the onset of the Ukraine conflict.