London – US-Russian double citizen Ksenia Karelina was released from the Russian prison in a prison at night, announced State Secretary Marco Rubio on Thursday.
The exchange took place overnight in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Karelina’s lawyer Mikhail Mushailov confirmed to ABC News that she had been released.
State Secretary Marco Rubio confirmed the exchange in a tweet and wrote, “American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane at home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year, and President Trump secured his release.”
An American official told ABC News that US and Russian intelligence agencies took the lead in negotiating the prisoner’s swap.
Russian-American double citizen Ksenia Karelina, charged with treason of giving a donation to a charity supporting Ukraine, attend a hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia, August 15, 2024.
Dmitry Chashovitin/Reuters
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement, “Today, President Trump brought home another wrongful withheld American from Russia. I am proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort and we appreciate the UAE’s government to enable exchange.”
A CIA spokesman told ABC News that “much of swap was negotiated by the US government, where the CIA played a key role involved in Russian intelligence.”
“Through these engagements, the CIA negotiated with Russia and worked closely with domestic and foreign partners, including UAE, to implement the exchange,” the spokesman said. “We also collaborated closely with colleagues on agencies across [U.S. government] to facilitate this exchange. “
Russia’s federal security service also confirmed Karelina’s release and said she had been pardoned via a decree from President Vladimir Putin. FSB said the exchange was made at Abu Dhabi Airport with the mediation of UAE.
The German-Russian citizen Artur Petrov-there was detained in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the United States and later extradited-was exchanged with Karelina, the service says.
A message about the Ministry of Justice on his arrest said Petrov was accused of involvement in a scheme for acquiring US-sourced microelectronics, which is subject to export control on behalf of a Russia-based supplier. The components were intended for producers who supplied weapons and other equipment to the Russian military, the announcement said.
A statement from 2024 related to Petrov’s extradition to the United States said he was part of a network that secretly delivered Russia’s military industrial complex with “critical American technology, including the same types of microelectronics recovered from Russian weapons on Ukrainian battlefields.”
Karelina-a ballet dancer-appointed a 12-year prison sentence in a penalty colony that had been convicted of treason in August 2024. She was accused of organizing Fundraisers for Ukraine’s military, participating in Pro-Ukraine Rallies and issuing social media messages against Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, talked to ABC News Live hours after her criminal shower and said she did nothing wrong. He said all she did was donate $ 50 to a Ukrainian charity.
This is an evolving story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Cindy Smith, Tanya Stukalova and Shannon K. Kingston contributed to this report.
