Ksenia Karelina: Hugs and smiles as ballerina jailed in Russia arrives home in US after prisoner exchange
A former ballerina who spent more than a year in a Russian jail for donating £40 to a charity supporting Ukraine has returned home to the US after being freed in a prisoner exchange.
Ksenia Karelina landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at around 11pm, local time, on Thursday.
A smiling Ms Karelina was greeted on the runway by her fiance, the professional boxer Chris van Heerden, and given flowers by Morgan Ortagus, President Donald Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East.
Van Heerden said in a statement he was "overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina, is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia.
"She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return."
He thanked Mr Trump and his envoys, as well as prominent public figures who had championed her case, including Dana White, a friend of Mr Trump and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Ms Karelina, 34, a US-Russian citizen also identified as Ksenia Khavana, was accused of treason when she was arrested in Yekaterinburg, in southwestern Russia, while visiting family in February last year.
Investigators searched her mobile phone and found she made a $51.80 (£40) donation to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine, on the first day of Russia's invasion in 2022.
She admitted the charge at a closed trial in the city in August last year and was later jailed for 12 years, to be served in a penal colony.
At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr Trump, who wants to normalise relations with Moscow, said the Kremlin " released the young ballerina and she is now out, and that was good. So we appreciate that".
He said the release followed conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian security services accused her of "proactively" collecting money for a Ukrainian organisation that was supplying gear to Kyiv's forces.
The First Department, a Russian rights group, said the charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a US charity aiding Ukraine.
Washington, which had called her case "absolutely ludicrous", released Arthur Petrov, who it was holding on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia, in the prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi.
Karelina was among a growing number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the war in Ukraine.
Her release is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the US carried out in the last three years - and the second since Mr Trump took office.
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said members of the Trump administration "continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump's epic four-word troll of Republican against his 'big beautiful bill' after claiming he was snubbed from White House picnic
President Donald Trump 's cheeky bite back to a Senate Republican at odds with his 'big, beautiful bill 'made waves across social media platforms Thursday morning. Kentucky Republican Rand Paul had previously told reporters Wednesday that the White House had disinvited him from the annual Congressional Picnic, set to take place there later Thursday evening. But Trump contradicted his own White House on Thursday, indicating that 'of course' Paul and his family could attend. 'He's the toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate, but why wouldn't he be? Besides, it gives me more time to get his Vote on the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill,' Trump wrote in a post on his social media site Truth Social on Thursday morning. 'It will help to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! I look forward to seeing Rand. The Party will be Great!' Trump concluded. Speaking to reporters out side of the Capitol Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) shared that his invitation to the President's Congressional picnic had been cancelled. 'I've just been told that I've been uninvited from the [ White House ] Democrat will be invited, every Republican invited, but I will be the only one disallowed. I just find this incredibly petty', Paul said. The Daily Mail is reaching out to Paul's office to see if the senator is choosing to take up the president's new invitation. Trump wrote in a post on his social media site Truth Social on Thursday morning that 'of course' Senator Rand Paul and his family could attend the White House Congressional picnic President Trump has had Paul in his crosshairs over the past few weeks, as the Senator has been opposing the president's 'big,beautiful' budget bill. Paul's primary opposition to the legislation has been over the projected new additions to the national debt. While he wants to see the President's 2017 tax cuts extended, Paul has portrayed the current $5 trillion in new debt as 'Biden spending levels.' 'This will be the largest increase in the debt ceiling ever in our history. We've never raised the debt ceiling without meeting the target,' Paul told Fox News earlier this month. 'I think it is a terrible idea to do this' Paul told Fox News earlier in June.' During another recent appearance on CBS' Face the Nation, Paul told host Margaret Brennan that the math in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' 'doesn't really add up.' 'One of the things this big and beautiful bill is, is it's a vehicle for increasing spending for the military and for the border. It's about $320 billion in new spending,' Paul said at the time. Trump has been attacking Paul on social media for weeks just as Senate Republicans have been grappling with the massive spending legislation. 'Rand Paul has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting 'NO' on everything, he thinks it's good politics, but it's not. The BBB is a big WINNER!!!' Trump wrote on Truth Social. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has also piled on. 'Well, anyone who votes against the one big, beautiful bill including Senator Rand Paul, will be voting for a tax hike of more than $4 trillion on the American people and their voters will know about it,' Leavitt warned earlier this month. Paul was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, long before Trump's foray into politics, and was easily reelected to a third term in 2022 during Joe Biden's presidency. Paul is not up for election again until 2028. Kentucky's other Senate seat is up as an open seat in the 2026 midterms election. The commonwealth's senior senator and former Senate leader Mitch McConnell - another running Trump nemesis -- is not running for another term.
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos faces detention hearing
A Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos into the United States faces a detention hearing in Massachusetts on Thursday. Kseniia Petrova, 30, has been in federal custody since February and is seeking to be released. Petrova was returning from a vacation in France, where she had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research. She was later questioned about the samples while passing through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint at Boston Logan International Airport. She told The Associated Press in an interview in April that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. After an interrogation, Petrova was told her visa was being canceled. Petrova was briefly detained by immigration officials in Vermont, where she filed a petition seeking her release. She was later sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility facility in Louisiana. The Department of Homeland Security had said in a statement on the social media platform X that Petrova was detained after 'lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country.' They allege that messages on her phone 'revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them.' In May, Petrova was charged with smuggling in Massachusetts as a federal judge in Vermont set the hearing date on her petition. That judge later ruled that the immigration officers' actions were unlawful, that Petrova didn't present a danger, and that the embryos were nonliving, nonhazardous and 'posed a threat to no one.' The judge released Petrova from ICE custody, but she remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on the smuggling charge. Colleagues and academics have testified on Petrova's behalf, saying she is doing valuable research to advance cures for cancer.
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Long Island school nurse reassigned for wearing coat with three controversial letters during 'Superhero Day'
A New York nurse has been reassigned after allegedly dressing up as an ICE agent during a Superhero-themed fancy dress day at a largely Hispanic school. The employee, who has not been officially named, sparked fury among parents at Northwest Elementary School in Long Island by wearing a hat and jacket emblazoned with the controversial letters on Wednesday. Amityville Union Free School District said her outfit was 'perceived by some members of the school community as offensive or inappropriate in the educational setting'. 'The District takes all concerns related to the school environment seriously, particularly when they may impact students, staff, or families,' officials said. 'Upon learning of the situation, the staff member was immediately reassigned to a non-school setting pending a full review.' The district said it is investigating the 'personnel matter', and will not be providing any further details about the incident. Sixty percent of students enrolled at Northwest Elementary School for the 2023/2024 school year are Hispanic, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Amityville residents and parents erupted in fury online, with several people calling the ICE costume 'disgusting', while others called for the nurse to be fired. 'I hope karma is swift and she loses her job,' one person said. 'This is so disgraceful on so many levels. I feel so broken.' Another woman said she was 'appalled' by the outfit. 'Her abhorrent behavior needs to be dealt with immediately,' she said of the nurse. 'Wow. Truly disgusting,' another woman wrote. 'Call the Amityville Superintendent's office and email the Board of Education to demand consequences for this school nurse - a disgrace to her profession.' It comes as tensions surrounding Donald Trump's sweeping immigration raids have reached a boiling point, with widespread unrest erupting across the country. Protests broke out in Los Angeles on Friday, in response to ICE agents allegedly detaining two truckloads of people at a manufacturing site in the California city. The demonstrations escalated into violence, looting and arson over the weekend, with several protesters also waving Mexican and Palestinian flags. Trump responded by mobilizing 4,000 National Guard members to quell the riots, along with 700 US Marines. LA Mayor Karen Bass also said a curfew had been put in place from 8pm until 6am in an effort to quell the unrest. 'If you drive through downtown LA, the graffiti is everywhere and has caused significant damages,' Bass said, adding that 29 businesses were looted on Monday night alone. Demonstrators have said that Trump's immigration raids are lacking due process, while breaking migrant families apart. The LA protests also inspired anti-ICE demonstrations in other cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta. Some rallies involved a few dozen people, while others attracted thousands.
