Russian-American Ksenia Karelina released in prisoner exchange

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 6:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

Russia connected Thursday released a dual national jailed for donating to a foundation providing assistance to Ukraine successful a swap with the United States for a German-Russian national accused of exporting delicate U.S. electronics for usage successful Russia's military.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Ksenia Karelina, who was recovered blameworthy past twelvemonth of treason by a Russian tribunal for donating wealth to a U.S.-based foundation providing humanitarian enactment to Ukraine, was connected her mode home.

Her lawyer confirmed to Reuters that Karelina had been released arsenic portion of a swap for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian national arrested successful 2023 successful Cyprus astatine the petition of the U.S. for allegedly exporting delicate microelectronics.

The Wall Street Journal archetypal reported the news.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a elder Russian quality authoritative conducted talks for the swap successful Abu Dhabi, according to a CIA authoritative quoted by the Journal.

"Today, President [Donald] Trump brought location different wrongfully detained American from Russia," Ratcliffe said successful a connection to the Journal. I'm arrogant of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to enactment this effort, and we admit the authorities of U.A.E. for enabling the exchange."

Imprisoned German-Russian portion of the exchange

Karelina near for the U.S. connected a level from Abu Dhabi connected Thursday morning, her Russian lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said.

Karelina was moving arsenic an aesthetician astatine a Los Angeles spa erstwhile she travelled to sojourn household successful Russia. She was detained successful January 2024.

The U.S. Justice Department said past twelvemonth that Petrov had participated successful a strategy to procure U.S.-sourced microelectronics for manufacturers supplying weaponry and different instrumentality to the Russian military.

The Justice Department said that Petrov had formed an elaborate tech-smuggling syndicate that spirited delicate exertion to Russia's military-industrial analyzable done a web of ammunition companies. Petrov was unavailable for comment.

WATCH l American-Canadian Paul Whelan connected Russian prisons, labour camps:

It's the 3rd notable captive speech betwixt the countries successful little than a year. U.S. teacher Marc Fogel was released from a Russian situation successful February during a sojourn by Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow.

Russia and the U.S. successful the last months of Joe Biden's medication finalized a large-scale speech of prisoners, the biggest since the Cold War. The speech saw American-Canadian national Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal newsman Evan Gershkovich and Russian writer and dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza released from Russian prisons.

Separately connected Thursday, U.S. and Russian delegations arrived for talks. The focus, according to Moscow and Washington, is restoring the enactment of diplomatic missions aft years of conflict, communal claims of intimidation and adjacent the freezing of diplomatic spot analyzable relations betwixt the 2 atomic powers, exacerbated by Russia's penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.

"Ukraine is not, perfectly not connected the agenda," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said connected Tuesday.

"These talks are solely focused connected our embassy operations, not connected normalizing a bilateral narration overall, which tin lone happen, arsenic we've noted, erstwhile determination is bid betwixt Russia and Ukraine."