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From Fox News: 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.
What was Karelina’s terrible ‘crime’? She donated less than $100 to a Ukrainian charity. For that, she had been sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison.
The Wall Street Journal explained in a separate report:
Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual national who was sentenced last year to 12 years in a penal colony after being found guilty in Russia of treason for donating less than $100 to a U.S.-based Ukrainian charity. In exchange, the U.S. freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official conducted the talks for the swap, according to a CIA official, pointing to deepening communications between the two countries’ intelligence agencies.
Karelina lived in Los Angeles and worked as an aesthetician at a Beverly Hills spa. Karelina’s boyfriend said the pair had gone to Istanbul in late 2023 to celebrate New Year’s Eve and that Karelina later flew to Yekaterinburg, roughly 900 miles east of Moscow, to visit family and was detained for several hours on arrival. Russian authorities later arrested her.
Ksenia Karelina had a message for President Trump after landing on U.S. soil:
“Mr. Trump, I’m so, so grateful for you to bring me home… I never felt more blessed to be an American and I’m so, so happy to get home. Thank you — Thank you so much.” ❤️ 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/CkkkkUsh5M
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 11, 2025
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who was on hand to greet Karelina when she arrived, wrote, “Honored to greet Ksenia Karelina early this morning and help get her returned back home to the United States. Grateful for the @CIA officers who worked to make this success possible! President Trump will continue to work for the release of all wrongfully detained Americans. 🇺🇸”
Honored to greet Ksenia Karelina early this morning and help get her returned back home to the United States. Grateful for the @CIA officers who worked to make this success possible!
President Trump will continue to work for the release of all wrongfully detained Americans. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/AjHyD2Nc4F
— CIA Director John Ratcliffe (@CIADirector) April 10, 2025
.@PressSec: “Last night, Ksenia Karelina arrived back safely in the United States after being detained in Russia for more than a year. Since Inauguration Day, @POTUS and his team have secured the release of more than 40 detained Americans abroad.” pic.twitter.com/hD7FtNPuNv
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 11, 2025
Moscow released Ksenia Karelina, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony, in a prisoner swap https://t.co/oZdGbHZNLU
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 10, 2025
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