A 33-year-old amateur ballerina with dual U.S. and Russian citizenship is facing life in prison after being detained in Russia for allegedly donating $51 to Ukraine’s war effort.
Russia’s main intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, announced that the woman had been arrested on charges of treason. The FSB said the woman, a resident of Los Angeles, California, accused her of collecting funds for the Ukrainian military.
Ksenia Karelina, pictured here in custody, is reported to be a resident of Los Angeles. (Facebook/RIA Novosti)
American-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina has been arrested in Russia. (East 2 West)
“Since February 2022, she has been actively collecting funds for one of the Ukrainian organizations, which funds were subsequently used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the purchase of tactical medicines, equipment, weapons and ammunition,” FSB said. “Furthermore, this national repeatedly participated in public actions in support of the Kiev regime in the United States.”
Independent news outlet Mediazona identified the woman as Ksenia Karelina and said she had married an American and obtained American citizenship. The outlet reported Karelina reportedly sent approximately $51 to the Ukrainian nonprofit organization Razom for Ukraine.
American-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina has been arrested in Russia. (East 2 West)
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White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the White House and the State Department were aware of the reports of the arrest. “We will continue to obtain further information and ensure consular access to the individual.” “I’m trying to do that,” he added.
Kirby declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns, but reiterated his “very strong warning of the dangers posed to American citizens in Russia.”
“If you are a U.S. citizen, including dual citizens, living or traveling to Russia, you should leave now,” he said.
Ksenia Karelina has dual citizenship of the United States and Russia. (Facebook/Ksenia Karelina)
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that U.S. diplomats should not be concerned about dual citizenship between the U.S. and Russia because the Russian government “does not recognize dual citizenship and considers individuals first and foremost to be Russian citizens.” He pointed out that it has become difficult to receive assistance from consulates. .
“What happened to Ksenia Karelina is very sad. As someone who defected from Soviet Russia over 30 years ago and whose daughter is a ballerina, this really hits home for me,” said Rebecca, a former DIA agent. Koffler said.
“But this is not surprising. The Putin regime has always used hostage diplomacy as a form of state policy, but now that the conflict between Russia and the United States has reached an all-time high, the Kremlin is taking this tactic to the maximum.” We’re accelerating it. No Americans, especially no Russians,’ or Slavs should go to Russia,” Koffler said.
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Furthermore, “Furthermore, no one should hold dual American-Russian nationality, or even both passports. For the Russian state, if you were born in Russia, by law you are always Russian and not American. .Likewise, you are Russian by birth,” he added. “In America, unless you renounce your citizenship, you automatically become an American citizen, with small exceptions. Today, having dual American-Russian citizenship requires it and invites trouble. .”
Ukraine representative Razom said the group was “appalled by the reports of Karelina’s arrest.”
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly shown that he does not value sovereign borders, foreign nationalities, or international treaties above his own narrow interests. His government stands up for freedom and democracy. They are attacking civil society activists,” Chomiak said in a statement to FOX News Digital. “President Razom continues to do everything in his power to demand from President Putin the release of everyone unjustly detained by Russia and to hold Russia’s political and military leadership accountable for the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We ask the U.S. government to do so.”
News of Karelina’s arrest comes as a Russian court has decided to detain Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovitch pending trial on espionage charges that he denies. Ta.
A Moscow city court rejected an appeal filed by Gershkovych’s lawyers against his detention, upholding an earlier decision to keep him in prison until the end of March.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovitch is escorted from the Lefortovsky courtroom in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, January 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlyanichenko)
This means Gershkovitch, 32, will spend at least a year behind bars in Russia after his arrest in March 2023 during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, a city in Russia’s Ural Mountains.
Mr. Gershkovic and the Journal have denied the spying allegations, and the U.S. government has declared that Mr. Gershkovic is being unfairly detained. Russian authorities have not provided detailed evidence supporting the charges.
In December, the U.S. State Department announced several steps toward the release of Gershkovic and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan who has been imprisoned in Russia since his arrest on espionage-related charges in December 2018. Russia announced that it had rejected the proposal. conflict. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
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Some analysts say the Russian government may be using the imprisoned American as a bargaining chip after Russia sent troops to Ukraine and tensions between the U.S. and Russia escalated. are doing. At least two Americans arrested in Russia in recent years, including WNBA star Brittney Greiner, have been exchanged with Russians imprisoned in the United States.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
