An American citizen was released by Russian custody in an exchange of prisoners, they said officials from the United States and Russia on Thursday, in the midst of a wider effort of the two countries to repair relationships.
The American, Ksenia Karelina, was serving a 12 -year sentence in Russia after being sentenced for treason for having donated about $ 50 to a non -profit group that sends assistance to Ukraine. It also has Russian citizenship.
The secretary of state Marco Rubio declared on Thursday that Mrs. Karelina, 33 years old, was “on a plane at home in the United States”.
“He was unjustly detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump ensured his release,” he wrote on X.
The Russian Intelligence Agency said that Mrs. Karelina had been released after a presidential forgiveness in exchange for Artur Petrov, citizen of Russia and Germany that the Department of Justice had accused of violations of export control.
The exchange of prisoners highlighted how Moscow and Washington were willing to engage in a significant diplomacy even if the talks led by the Trump Administration on a potential ceased to fire in Ukraine seem blocked.
It came when US and Russian diplomats met in Türkiye to discuss practical measures to improve relationships, such as the resumption of direct flights and staff levels to the embassies.
The CIA claimed to have played a key role in the exchange. He said in a declaration that the exchange was negotiated with other partners, including the United Arab Emirates, and showed “the importance of keeping the communication lines with Russia open” despite the challenges.
“Today, President Trump brought home another American detained incorrectly by Russia,” said the agency director, John Ratcliffe, in a note. “I am proud of the CIA officers who have worked tirelessly to support this effort”
It was not clear if Thursday’s exchange would have announced further diplomatic discoveries between the United States and Russia. Despite a barrage of high -profile meetings in recent weeks, several significant questions under discussion remain unresolved, such as the return of diplomatic property and the future of sanctions.
The detention of Mrs. Karelina was one in a series of cases that raised fears that the Kremlin tries to use American citizens as a bargaining chip to be exchanged with the Russians held in the West. An American basketball star, Brittney Griner, and a journalist, Evan Gershkovich, were both freed in swap high -profile prisoners during the Biden administration.
In February, Russia agreed to release Marc Fogel, an American teacher who has been imprisoned in Russia on charges of drugs. The release of Mr. Fogel – that the Biden administration had classified as unjustly detained – was part of an agreement with the Kremlin negotiated by the special envoy of Mr. Trump in the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
In return, the officials said, the United States agreed to release Alexander Vinnik, a Russian who had been convicted of conspiracy to commit money back money. This has been seen as an effort to establish a goodwill while the Trump administration has tried to make an agreement to end the war in Ukraine that Russia has started more than three years ago.
Later that month, Russia released an American citizen who had been arrested 10 days earlier at Moscow airport with accusations of drugs.
However, other Americans remain in Russian custody, including Stephen Hubbard, a school teacher captured by Russia in Ukraine whose release Washington is pushing.
The exchange of prisoners on Thursday – which was reported for the first time by the Wall Street Journal – took place at Abu Dhabi airport, the capital of the United Emirates, with the Emirates mediation, according to the Russian Intelligence Agency. The Emirates Foreign Ministry has published a smiling photo of Mrs. Karelina on the asphalt.
Her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, said he was “very happy” from the news. In a statement shared by Global Reach, an organization that has put pressure on behalf of Mrs. Karelina, expressed gratitude to the officials of Mr. Trump and the United States.
Mrs. Karelina, who lives in Los Angeles, was arrested last year while visiting the grandparents in Yekaterinburg, a city about 850 miles east of Moscow. The accusations against her revolved around a one -off donation in Razom for Ukraine, a non -profit organization based in New York that sends non -military assistance to the country.
Petrov, 33 years old, was held in Cyprus in 2023 and then extradited to the United States. The Department of Justice has accused him of conspiracy to contracept the US microelectronics with military factories in Russia who produce weapons for his war in Ukraine.
In a video released by the Russian Intelligence Agency on Thursday, Mr. Petrov was seen obtaining a medical supervision aboard a plane and said that “he felt well but really tired”.
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