Thu Apr 10 10:01:29 UTC 2025: ## US-Russia Prisoner Swap Frees American Woman Jailed on Treason Charges
**Abu Dhabi, UAE –** A US-Russia prisoner exchange has secured the release of Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian dual national, who was imprisoned in Russia on treason charges. The exchange, confirmed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Karelina’s lawyer, took place in Abu Dhabi on April 10, 2025. Karelina, a former ballet dancer, was arrested in February 2024 and convicted later that year for a $52 donation to a US charity supporting Ukraine. US authorities condemned the charges as “absolutely ludicrous.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly oversaw the exchange, stating that President Trump had brought home another wrongfully detained American. In exchange for Karelina’s release, the US reportedly freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023 on charges of exporting sensitive microelectronics. Neither the US nor Russian governments have yet officially confirmed Petrov’s release.
Karelina’s lawyer stated she was en route to the US from Abu Dhabi. The prisoner exchange follows a similar event in December 2022, where WNBA star Brittney Griner was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer, also in Abu Dhabi. The UAE has increasingly served as a neutral ground for prisoner exchanges between Russia and the US.
First Piper 