Ksenia Karelina has message for Trump after US-Russia prisoner swap
Russian-American ballerina tells President Donald Trump she is ‘so grateful’ following her release Thursday. (Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump)
Russian American ballerina Ksenia Karelina said in a video she was "so grateful" to President Donald Trump after landing on American soil following a prisoner swap with Russia.
Trump shared the video on Friday morning on his Truth Social account, writing, "Glad to have you back home."
"Mr. Trump, I’m so, so grateful for you to bring me home and for [the] American government. And I never felt more blessed to be American and I’m so, so happy to get home. Thank you," Karelina said to a camera after landing late Thursday night at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Karelina shared a long embrace with her fiancé, boxer Chris Van Deerden, after stepping off the plane. She has been offered Post Isolation Support Activities, which is a reacclimation program for wrongful detainees, a U.S. official said.
RUSSIAN-AMERICAN BALLERINA KSENIA KARELINA RELEASED IN PRISONER SWAP WITH MOSCOW
Ksenia Karelina walks with her fiancé, professional boxer Chris van Heerden, as she arrives on Thursday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Moscow released Karelina on Thursday in exchange for German Russian citizen Arthur Petrov, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. on charges of exporting sensitive microelectronics, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.
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Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty to treason for donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2024. She was initially detained for "petty hooliganism" while visiting family in Russia that year.
Russian authorities claimed that Karelina, who lived in Los Angeles, raised money for the Ukrainian army and took part in "public actions" that supported Ukraine while in the U.S.
Karelina was left out of a massive August 2024 prisoner swap that resulted in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva from Russia.
Ksenia Karelina thanked President Donald Trump in a video he posted to his Truth Social account on Friday. (AP/Alex Brandon)
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She is the latest American prisoner detained in another country to be freed under Trump's administration. In February, Trump brought American history teacher Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia since 2021, back to the U.S.
Fox News’ Lauralee Guidry, Elizabeth Pritchett and Alex Hogan contributed to this report.
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