A U.S.-Russian dual citizen was released from Russian imprisonment in a prisoner swap.
Ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who was wrongfully detained for more than a year, is now heading back to the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that President Donald Trump will “continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said the United States “welcomes the return of American-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina who was sentenced by a Russian court to a penal colony for 12 years after authorities discovered she had donated to a Ukrainian charity,” adding that “President Trump and his administration continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families.”
Karelina was originally detained for “petty hooliganism” while visiting family in Russia in 2024. The charge was later moved to treason.
In exchange for Karelina, the United States released prisoner Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023 for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Karelina’s fiancé, 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.”
In February, Marc Fogel, an American history teacher detained in Russia since 2021, returned to the United States. He had been serving a 14-year sentence after being arrested at a Russian airport for possessing what his family described as medically prescribed marijuana. His release marks the end of a years-long ordeal.
