Diyar Guldogan
06 May 2025•Update: 06 May 2025
WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump met Monday with Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who was freed in an April prisoner swap.
"Congratulations," said Trump, while shaking Karelina’s hand in the Oval Office.
"Thank you so much," Karelina told Trump, to which he responded: "It’s a great honor."
Russia and the US announced in April that Karelina was exchanged for Russian national Artur Petrov.
Karelina, a Los Angeles resident who holds dual Russian and US citizenship, was detained in 2024 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
Since February 2022, she had been actively fundraising in support of a Ukrainian organization, with the funds later used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, destructive weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, according to Russia.
In 2024, a Russian court found Karelina guilty of treason and sentenced her to 12 years in a penal colony.
