Trump to meet with American ballerina who was held in Russian prison for 15 months
Karelina, 34, was born in Russia and immigrated to the U.S. more than 10 years ago, building a life in Los Angeles as an esthetician at a spa and obtaining citizenship in 2021. But Karelina was arrested in January 2024 while visiting her parents and sister in the southern Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
Karelina was accused of treason after she donated $51 from her U.S. bank account to a charity that sends aid to Ukraine on February 24, 2022 — the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion into the country.
Russia's Federal Security Service issued a statement at the time claiming that Karelina had been 'proactively collecting funds... which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medical items, equipment, means of destruction and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.'
Following Karelina's arrest, the charity she donated to released a statement condemning her arrest and calling on the US government 'to continue to do everything in its power to demand that President Putin release all those unjustly detained by Russia and to hold Russia's political and military leadership accountable for their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.'
In August, she was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony for 'high treason.' Russian authorities claimed she 'fully admitted her guilt.'
Karelina was released last month and safely returned to the U.S. The 34-year-old was freed as part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia, negotiated by the CIA and senior Russian intelligence officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned Karelina before the swap.
'Today, the United States welcomes the return of American-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina who was sentenced by a Russian court to a penal colony for 12 years after authorities discovered she had donated to a Ukrainian charity,' Mike Waltz said last month while serving as National Security Adviser.
'President Trump and his administration continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
a few seconds ago
- Telegraph
US planning to ‘take over' Gaza aid effort from Israel
Donald Trump and his special envoy are planning to dramatically increase the US role in delivering aid to starving people in Gaza, according to American and Israeli officials. One source told Axios that the Trump administration will 'take over' management of the humanitarian effort because Israel is failing in the task. The world has been horrified by images from the war-torn Palestinian enclave showing emaciated children and desperate parents. Mr Trump dispatched Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, to Gaza last week to see for himself what could be done. On his return, Mr Witkoff discussed stepping up the US effort in a meeting at the White House on Monday. A US official said Mr Trump 'was not thrilled' about taking on the role but could see no alternative. 'The starvation problem in Gaza is getting worse,' the official told Axios. 'Donald Trump does not like that. He does not want babies to starve. 'He wants mothers to be able to nurse their children. He's becoming fixated on that.' Ceasefire talks are stalled after two and a half years of conflict, and aid agencies fear the territory is headed for famine unless something drastic changes. Mr Trump recently broke with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on the scale of the crisis. The president said he disagreed with Mr Netanyahu's assessment that there 'was no starvation in Gaza,' explaining that 'Those children look very hungry.' As Mr Trump returned from his UK trip last week, he also said he had discussed the shocking photographs with the first lady. 'There's nothing you can say other than it's terrible,' he said. Israel supports the new US plan, according to an Israeli official. 'They are going to spend a lot of money in order to help us significantly improve the humanitarian situation so that it will be less of an issue,' the Israeli official said. Few other details of the proposal were made available and Mr Witkoff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'The president doesn't want to see the US being the only country throwing money at this problem. It's a global problem. And he's been tasking Witkoff and others to make sure everyone is stepping up, our European friends and our Arab friends,' said an official. The conflict began when Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on October 7 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing 251 hostages. Mr Netanyahu has made clear he has no plans to ease up on the assault. 'It is still necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, release our hostages and ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel,' Mr Netanyahu told new recruits at a military base.
Daily Mail
a few seconds ago
- Daily Mail
Donald Trump unveils 'very strong' testing to stop male athletes sneaking into women's sports at 2028 Olympics
Donald Trump has revealed that there will be 'strong forms of testing' as part of his clamp down on transgender athletes competing in women's sports. Trump signed the executive order to ban trans athletes from women's sports back in February - with the United States set to host the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. It took many months but, in July, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee reportedly complied with Trump's demand in a major breakthrough for the President. Now, Trump has revealed testing plans over the matter. He was asked: 'Will the Department of Justice consider pressing charges against any man that tries to masquerade as a woman coming into this country to beat up American athletes? Would you consider genetic testing so these people can prove they're women?' Trump responded: 'I think there is going to be a very strong form of testing. As far as charges, I'd have to ask the Attorney General about that. 'But there will be a very, very strong form of testing. And if the test doesn't come out appropriately, they won't be in the Olympics'. Back in May, the president threatened to pull federal funding in California if the state did not follow the order, before suing its Department of Education when they refused to do so. The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department said California's trans athlete stance violated Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. The department also claimed the state's policies 'are not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.' US Attorney General Pam Bondi warned other states that allow trans girls to compete in female athletics that they could also face challenges by the federal government. Last year's Paris Olympics was marred by controversy after Imane Khelif - a boxer from Algeria - was allowed to fight against women in the welterweight category despite intense scrutiny over her gender. Khelif went all the way and captured gold in the French capital, which sparked outrage given she was thrown out of the world championship in 2023 after allegedly failing gender eligibility tests. USA Fencing recently posted a new policy for trans athletes that will take effect on August 1. The governing body, which came under fire earlier this year after a female fencer was disqualified for refusing to face a trans opponent, will now restric trans women to only competing in the men's category.
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Shopping centre responds to 'pink coat girl' viral videos
Shopping centre responds to 'pink coat girl' viral videos Footage of a young girl causing chaos at Manchester Arndale has gone viral on social media with people divided over her actions - now the shopping centre has responded The girl has been called a "diva" online, but not everyone agrees (Image: TikTok) A series of wild videos have taken social media by storm over the weekend, allegedly showing a young girl causing 'mayhem' at the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester. Read here about the Welsh valley town where people are afraid to go out after 6pm due to naughty children In the numerous clips, a young girl is seen clambering atop an escalator, being led away by security guards, and reportedly yanking the hair of another shopper within the Manchester shopping centre. Read here about how a Welsh choir stunned shoppers at Manchester's Arndale shopping centre One video of the incident had been viewed by more than 55 million people on TikTok within three days. The clips posted on TikTok show the girl dressed in a pink coat, climbing between escalators (Image: TikTok) Another snippet on X has garnered over 13 million views in just over 12 hours, with individuals worldwide sharing their opinions on the clips. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Some American viewers have drawn comparisons between the girl and children's book character Junie B Jones and The Grinch character Cindy Lou Who. The footage appears to start with a young girl in a pink coat and her family having a heated exchange with a group of security staff outside a shop, alongside another group of shoppers. It's unclear what is being said, but security can be seen separating the two groups of shoppers, reports the Manchester Evening News. As the clip progresses, the girl and her family depart, before another young girl hurls an unidentified object in the direction of where the security guards and the other group of shoppers are standing. Another clip, which is believed to have been filmed following the earlier footage, shows the youngster in the pink jacket on a descending escalator accompanied by two security personnel. She then clambers onto the central divide between the two moving staircases before scaling the stationary upward escalator and ascending the steps. Upon reaching the trop of the escalator, the footage captures her approaching a cluster of shoppers who are observing the unfolding chaos. The video then records her confronting a female shopper before proceeding to grab them by the hair. She subsequently returns down the escalator sporting a grin. Videos show the girls arguing with security at the shopping centre (Image: TikTok) The sequence of clips has attracted polarised reactions, with viewers either celebrating the young girl as a 'diva' or condemning her behaviour. One individual remarked on the footage: "the pink jacket girl CLIMBING OVER the escalator, going back down it, and then going back up just gag her is frying me like WHO IS THIS DIVA LMFAOOO." They continued: "this entire situation is so chaotic i'm crying". Another declared: "That escalator wasn't ready for a diva moment". Whilst some viewers found the footage amusing, others expressed disapproval of her conduct. One person stated: "I don't find her behaviour that funny." Another individual observed: "Parents need to start parenting." Others also challenged those who were glorifying the behaviour shown in the clip, with one person questioning: "What an imbecile. Endangering others safety as well as her own. Why we calling her diva again?" One individual remarked: "Hateee the way everyone's hyping this child up, like that is not a diva stop enabling this behaviour omg." Another added: "maybe it's because i actually have kids and I'd die of embarrassment if they were like this, but the response to this girl overall being "go off queen" is so ****ed." However, while some believe the incident has occurred recently, the Manchester Evening News has confirmed that the original videos were first posted on TikTok in March 2022 by @dreams_dreams24. The same user has recently reposted the videos, which has led to 'pink coat girl' becoming a viral topic on TikTok. Shameless actress Kelli Hollis is among those who have shared their views on the clips online. Describing her as a 'little madam' to her 293,000 followers, Kelli says in a video: "She ain't a little diva, her. She's going to be a little ****ing nightmare is what she is." She added: "It's funny because it's just pure cheek but she's a little madam." A spokesperson for Manchester Arndale has now told the Manchester Evening News: "We're aware of a video that has been recently circulated on social media, which shows an altercation that took place in Manchester Arndale and was attended by members of our Security team. Article continues below "Following a review of the footage, we can confirm that this is a historic incident that occurred several years ago."
