Ksenia Karelina, holding dual citizenship in the US and Russia, was detained in Russia under charges of treason for a $51 donation to a Ukrainian charity, according to her employer in California. The FSB in Russia arrested the 33-year-old Los Angeles resident in Yekaterinburg, accusing her of financially aiding a foreign entity against Russia’s security.
Quick Read
- Ksenia Karelina, a dual US-Russian citizen, was arrested in Russia on treason charges for allegedly donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity.
- The arrest was made by Russia’s FSB in Yekaterinburg, and Karelina’s employer, a spa in Beverly Hills, confirmed the incident and denounced the charges.
- Karelina’s detention has not yet allowed US consular access, with the State Department emphasizing challenges in such cases due to Russia’s non-recognition of dual citizenship.
- The FSB also accused Karelina of supporting the Kyiv regime through public actions in the US.
- Karelina’s hearing was postponed due to the absence of a lawyer and is rescheduled for February 29.
- Razom for Ukraine, the charity to which Karelina allegedly donated, expressed dismay at her detention and urged the US government to demand her release.
- Karelina celebrated her US citizenship in 2021 and has a history of academic and professional activities in both Russia and the US.
- The arrest coincides with other high-profile detentions of US citizens in Russia, including journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.
The associated Press has the story:
Russia arrests US-Russian citizen for treason over donating $51 to Ukraine
Newslooks- (AP)
Ksenia Karelina, holding dual citizenship in the US and Russia, was detained in Russia under charges of treason for a $51 donation to a Ukrainian charity, according to her employer in California.
The FSB in Russia arrested the 33-year-old Los Angeles resident in Yekaterinburg, accusing her of financially aiding a foreign entity against Russia’s security.
Footage by RIA Novosti depicted Karelina, her identity concealed by a hat, in custody and later in a courtroom cell.
US official said that Karelina, who became a US citizen in 2021, had been in Russia since January 2, with the US becoming aware of her arrest on February 8.
Her employer, Ciel Spa at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, claims Karelina was imprisoned for a minor donation made to a Ukrainian charity in the US, expressing devastation over her wrongful accusations.
The State Department acknowledges Karelina’s detention but cites Russia’s non-recognition of dual citizenship as a barrier to consular access.
The FSB also implicates Karelina in supporting Ukraine’s cause in the US, with ongoing investigations and her court appearance postponed to February 29 due to a lack of legal representation.
Razom for Ukraine, the charity Karelina supported, expressed shock over her detention and called for the US to intervene for her and others unjustly held by Russia.
Karelina, who celebrated her US citizenship in 2021, has an academic background from the Ural Federal University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and has modeled for Shutterstock, including as a ballerina in New York City in 2017.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly shown that he holds no sovereign border, foreign nationality, or international treaty above his own narrow interest,” said Razom’s CEO Dora Chomiak in a statement posted on social media Tuesday.
Razom urged the US government to “do everything in its power” to demand the release “of all those unjustly detained by Russia,” Chomiak said.
She added that Razom is a US-based and funded charity that conducts activities “in keeping with our charitable purpose and our legal obligations as an American charitable organization,” which it said were “focused on humanitarian aid, disaster relief, education and advocacy.”
In a post on Russian social media platform VK in November 2021, Karelina shared a picture of herself standing between two American flags and waving a paper flag of her own as she celebrated becoming a US citizen. Her VK profile said she graduated from the Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg in 2014, and that she also studied at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Other images of Karelina have emerged showing her modeling for the stock photography company Shutterstock, including some that show her posing as a ballerina In New York City in 2017.
US citizens detained in Russia
Moscow has detained several US citizens in recent years, and the woman’s arrest came on the same day that the Moscow City Court upheld American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s extended pre-trial detention until March 30.
Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March last year on charges of espionage, which he, his employer and the US government have strenuously denied. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently suggested “an agreement can be reached” with the US to exchange Gershkovich for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany for murdering a former Chechen fighter in Berlin in 2019.
“Listen, I’ll tell you: sitting in one country, a country that is an ally of the United States, is a man who, for patriotic reasons, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals,” Putin said in an interview earlier this month with the right-wing American pundit Tucker Carlson.
In December 2022, Russia released US basketball star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap that involved Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner, who had for years played in Russia during the WNBA off-season, was detained in February of that year on drug smuggling charges at a Moscow airport.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020 after being convicted on espionage charges that he vehemently denies.
