Who is Ksenia Karelina? American ballerina jailed in Russia over $52 donation, freed in Trump-led swap

• Ksenia Karelina is a 32-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Russia.
• She was born in Russia but had been living in Los Angeles, where she worked in the beauty industry.
• Before moving to the US, she was a professional ballerina and lived in Maryland for some time.
• In early 2024, she travelled to Russia to visit her family and was arrested by Russian authorities.
• She was charged with treason after allegedly donating about $52 to a US-based charity that supported Ukraine.
• Russian officials claimed the donation amounted to support for the Ukrainian military, though human rights groups said the charge was based solely on that one donation.
• The US condemned the charges as politically driven and called the accusations “absolutely ludicrous.”
• Karelina’s fiancé, boxer Chris van Heerden, thanked President Trump and his team for helping to bring her home.
• Van Heerden described her ordeal as a “15-month nightmare” and said their dog, Boots, was also waiting for her.
• Karelina had been held in Yekaterinburg, a Russian city known for detaining foreign nationals.
• Her release came as part of a prisoner swap in which she was exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a Russian-German man convicted of smuggling in the US.

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