Ballerina jailed in Russia over £40 Ukraine charity donation released as part of US prisoner swap

Ballerina Ksenia Karelina - jailed in Russia after giving £40 to a charity supporting Ukraine - has been released as part of a prisoner swap deal with the US.

The 34-year-old US-Russian citizen was accused of treason when she was arrested in Yekaterinburg, in southwestern Russia, in February last year. Investigators searched her mobile phone and found that 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. Mikhail Mushailov, Ms Karelina's lawyer, said on Instagram that she had been flown to the US from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio added that Ms Karelina "was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year," and said "President Trump secured her release... (and) will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans".

Ms Karelina, an amateur ballerina, was born in Russia but moved to the US in 2012 and became a citizen in 2021. She had moved to Los Angeles, where she worked in a spa.

She had been back in Russia visiting family at the start of 2024 when she was arrested, according to rights group The First Department. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed she had proactively collected the money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organisations.

It claimed the donation was "used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces". The charity denies it provides military support to Kyiv, while the US authorities have previously called the case against her "absolutely ludicrous".

Read more:Video of Chinese national in Ukraine sparks questionsInside missile defence base protecting Europe German-Russian citizen released in swap In exchange for Ms Karelina's release, Arthur Petrov - who was arrested in 2023 for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics - was released. The dual German-Russian citizen was detained in Cyprus at the request of the US.

Last year, the US Justice Department said that Petrov participated in a scheme to obtain American-sourced microelectronics for manufacturers supplying the Russian military..