L.A. ballerina sentenced to 12 years in Russian penal colony

A Russian court has sentenced a U.S.-Russian ballerina to 12 years in penal colony for "high treason" after she transferred funds to a Ukrainian charity in 2022.

A Russian court has sentenced a U.S.-Russian ballerina to 12 years in a penal colony for "high treason," accusing her of transferring funds to a Ukrainian charity in February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ksenia Karelina, 33, who is based in Los Angeles, was visiting family in Russia when investigators searched her phone and found that she had donated funds to a Ukrainian charity. A spa where she had previously worked said in a statement on Facebook that Karelina given $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in the U.S.

Authorities have not confirmed that figure, and NBC News was not able to independently verify the sum or the nature of the alleged donation. 

Karelina's sentencing, the latest in a series of detentions of citizens of Western nations in Russia, comes against the backdrop of Russia's 2½-year-long war with Ukraine.

Ksenia Karelina sits in a defendant's cage in a court in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 20.STR / AP fileRussian President Vladimir Putin’s government has cracked down on dissent since the war began, and any perceived criticism of the military is banned.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/l-ballerina-sentenced-12-years-russian-penal-colony-rcna166702

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