Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina has returned to the US from Russia as part of a prisoner swap.
As the two nations attempt to mend fences, Russia released a Russian-American who had been convicted of treason on Thursday in exchange for a Russian-German, Arthur Petrov, who was imprisoned on smuggling charges in the US.
For over a year, Ksenia Karelina, known in the media as Ksenia Khavana, was arrested in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains, and found guilty of treason based on accusations related to a payment of over $50 to a charity supporting Ukraine.
Authorities in the United States have labeled the situation as "ludicrous."
On Thursday, April 10, the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, posted on the social media platform X, confirming the ballerina's return to the US. He then proceeded to write:
"She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release."
Rubio went on to say that the president will "continue to work for the release of ALL Americans."
According to a senior source from the Trump administration who spoke to CNN, Karelina boarded the aircraft with the US hostage envoy team. Russian state news agencies, citing the FSB, reported that Karelina was traded for Arthur Petrov, a dual Russian-German national who was detained in the US on suspicion of crimes including wire fraud, money laundering, smuggling, and export control violations, on Thursday.
A US official confirmed to Reuters that Putin responded to a call last week from US special envoy Steve Witkoff regarding the Karelina situation.
He said that he wanted to "do something as a goodwill gesture because he wants to settle the war."
According to officials, CIA Director John Ratcliffe conducted the prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. One official stated that although discussions about the exchange had been ongoing for some time, they took shape last week during Kirill Dmitriev's visit to Washington. Mr. Dmitriev is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest advisors.
A graduate of Stanford University and a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, Putin's special envoy, Dmitriev, is among the most U.S.-savvy members of Russia's elite and has connections with many individuals on President Trump's staff. Witkoff met with him last week in Washington.
Arthur Petrov's imprisonment in the US
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Petrov was charged with crimes including wire fraud, money laundering, smuggling, and violations of export controls.
At the request of the US, he was detained in Cyprus in August 2023, and a year later, he was extradited to the US.
The Justice Department claims that Petrov imported American-made electronics into Russia, where they were used to enhance weapons and other military hardware.
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