Ksenia Karelina: Ballerina arrives home in US after ‘nightmare’ of Russian penal colony | US News

A former ballerina who spent greater than a 12 months in a Russian jail for donating £40 to a charity supporting Ukraine has returned house to the US after being freed in a prisoner change.

Ksenia Karelina landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at round 11pm, native time, on Thursday.

A smiling Ms Karelina was greeted on the runway by her fiance, the skilled boxer Chris van Heerden, and given flowers by Morgan Ortagus, President Donald Trump’s deputy particular envoy to the Center East.

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Van Heerden stated in an announcement he was “overjoyed to listen to that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina, is on her means house from wrongful detention in Russia.

“She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I can not wait to carry her. Our canine, Boots, can also be eagerly awaiting her return.”

He thanked Mr Trump and his envoys, in addition to outstanding public figures who had championed her case, together with Dana White, a buddy of Mr Trump and CEO of the Final Combating Championship (UFC).

Ms Karelina, 34, a US-Russian citizen additionally recognized as Ksenia Khavana, was accused of treason when she was arrested in Yekaterinburg, in southwestern Russia, whereas visiting household in February final 12 months.

Investigators searched her cell phone and located she made a $51.80 (£40) donation to Razom, a charity that gives help to Ukraine, on the primary day of Russia’s invasion in 2022.

She admitted the cost at a closed trial within the metropolis in August final 12 months and was later jailed for 12 years, to be served in a penal colony.

At a cupboard assembly on Thursday, Mr Trump, who desires to normalise relations with Moscow, stated the Kremlin “released the young ballerina and he or she is now out, and that was good. So we recognize that”.

He stated the discharge adopted conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian safety companies accused her of “proactively” accumulating cash for a Ukrainian organisation that was supplying gear to Kyiv’s forces.

The First Division, a Russian rights group, stated the costs stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a US charity aiding Ukraine.

Washington, which had known as her case “completely ludicrous”, launched Arthur Petrov, who it was holding on prices of smuggling delicate microelectronics to Russia, within the prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi.

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Karelina was amongst a rising variety of People arrested in Russia lately as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the warfare in Ukraine.

Her launch is the newest in a collection of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the US carried out within the final three years – and the second since Mr Trump took workplace.

White Home nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz stated members of the Trump administration “proceed to work across the clock to make sure People detained overseas are returned house to their households”.