A dual U.S.-Russian citizen was reportedly detained by Russia Tuesday for donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian nonprofit.
Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB) detained a 33-year-old female dual-citizen suspected of treason after she allegedly collected financial support for the Ukrainian military, Reuters reported.
32 year old American citizen Ksenia Karelina was detained in Russia for ‘high treason.’
Her crime? Raising $51 for the Ukrainian Army.
If convicted she faces 20 years in jail pic.twitter.com/5gC8HSM4p5
— James Landis #Fella 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇨🇿 (@JamesLLandis) February 20, 2024
“Since February 2022, she has been proactively collecting funds in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organisations, which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine items, equipment, weapons and ammunition by the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the FSB reportedly relayed through a statement.
Russia’s Mediazone referred to the detained woman as Ksenia Karelina, according to the New York Post (NYP). She allegedly shifted $51.80 from an American bank account to Razom, a nonprofit the organization First Department claims is “contributing to the establishment of a secure, prosperous, and democratic Ukraine,” the outlet reported.
US citizen Ksenia Karelina was arrested in the case of treason in Russia, Mediazona found out. She was first detained in Yekaterinburg at the end of January and then sentenced to 14 days of arrest for “swearing”
Photo: Ksenia Karelina / VK https://t.co/o9ELSl1nwn pic.twitter.com/JWfXG3G0Xy
— Mediazona English (@mediazona_en) February 20, 2024
Karelina was previously arrested on Jan. 27 in Yekaterinburg due to allegedly swearing, an act police labeled “petty hooliganism,” according to Mediazone, the New York Post reported. She was reportedly inside a detention center when authorities charged her for the alleged Ukraine funds.
Karelina faces charges under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code, which could result in a prison sentence of 12 to 20 years, the New York Post reported. She is currently being detained via a pre-trial ruling of custody, according to NBC. (RELATED: CNN Reporter Asks Biden If Republicans Should Be Blamed For Navalny’s Death)
The woman posted various photos on social media of herself posing in ballet positions, but it is unclear if she was a professional ballerina, according to the NYP. Her Facebook profile claims she is a Los Angeles resident, originally from Yekaterinburg and graduated from Ural Federal University in 2013.
“We are aware of the reports, however, due to privacy considerations we have nothing further to convey at this moment,” a U.S. Embassy in Moscow spokesperson stated, the NYP reported.
