Dual Russian-U.S. citizen freed in prisoner swap

Russia freed Ksenia Karelina on Thursday in exchange for a Russian-German man who had been jailed in the United States for smuggling. Karelina, a dual Russian-U.S. citizen, was on a plane headed to America as of Thursday morning, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Russia previously sentenced Karelina to 12 years in a penal colony for treason. Her offense was donating about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine.

The United States released Arthur Petrov, who was extradited to the United States from Cyprus in 2024, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Petrov faced 20 years in prison for allegedly smuggling sensitive microelectronic components to Russia. The United Arab Emirates helped mediate the deal, the FSB said.

Karelina is the third American citizen released from Russian prison since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Russia released teacher Marc Fogel and another man, Kalob Byers, in February prisoner swaps.

What were Russian and American diplomats discussing on Thursday? The prisoner swap came as diplomats from both countries met Thursday in Istanbul to discuss how to improve operations between the Russian and American embassies. Talks about global security or a peace deal with Ukraine are absolutely not part of Thursday’s discussion, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Tuesday. Bruce also clarified that normalization of relations between the two countries is also not an option until Russia reaches a peace agreement with Ukraine.

Dig deeper: Read my report on China’s denial that masses of its troops are fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine.