Ksenia Karelina has been convicted of treason after she donated to a US charity aiding Ukraine.
US-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina has been sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison for treason after allegedly raising money for the Ukrainian military.
Karelina was convicted on charges linked to a $51 (€46) donation to a US charity.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said she “proactively collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organisations, which was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
Karelina, a former ballet dancer, obtained US citizenship after marrying her husband and moving to Los Angeles.
She was arrested in Yekaterinburg after returning to Russia to visit her family and pleaded guilty to the charges in a closed trial, according to Russian state media.
Her lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said Karelina pleaded guilty to transferring the funds but said she was not aware the money would be used for “anti-Russian actions”, adding that he planned to appeal the verdict.
Her partner, Chris Van Heerden, has been campaigning for her release since she was arrested.
“I thought it might be dangerous for her to go, with everything going on with the war in Ukraine, but she reassured me that she was Russian and that everything would be fine,” he told a Los Angeles newspaper.
Russia has passed laws that criminalise criticism of its actions in Ukraine and remarks considered to discredit the Russian military since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Karelina’s conviction follows last month’s prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington — the largest since the Cold War, including US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was convicted of espionage in March of last year.