Ballerina who was imprisoned by Russia after $52 donation to Ukraine charity has returned to U.S.

A Russian American woman who spent more than a year imprisoned in Russia over allegations of financially supporting Ukraine’s military after a charity donation returned to the United States on Thursday night after a prisoner exchange.

A Russian American woman who spent more than a year imprisoned in Russia over allegations of financially supporting Ukraine’s military after a charity donation returned to the United States on Thursday night after a prisoner exchange.

Ksenia Karelina, a former ballerina who had been living in Los Angeles, was arrested in Russia in February 2024 and sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony for “high treason.”

The plane carrying Karelina touched down at 10:56 p.m. at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.

Ksenia Karelina arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Thursday.Alex Brandon / APShe was smiling as she exited the plane's steps and embraced her fiancé, Chris van Heerden, who was waiting outside the jet. Van Heerden gave his coat to Karelina in the 50-degree night air and put his arm around her as they walked away from the plane.

"Mr. Trump, I'm so, so grateful for you to bring me home and for American government," Karelina said in video recorded by Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka. "And I never felt more blessed to be American, and I'm so, so happy to get home."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ksenia-karelina-ballerina-russia-returns-us-rcna200779

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