Russian prosecutors have sought a 15-year prison term for a dual US-Russian national accused of 'treason' for contributing to a pro-Ukraine organization. The FSB security service announced in February that it had detained ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who resides in the United States and was in Russia visiting family, alleging she provided financial support to the Ukrainian army.
'The state prosecutor has requested the court to impose a 15-year prison sentence on Karelina,' the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in the Urals city of Ekaterinburg stated on Thursday. Her attorney, Mikhail Mushailov, also verified the 15-year request in a post on his Instagram account. Karelina reportedly donated approximately $50 to a US-based pro-Ukraine charity following Russia's full-scale military operation in 2022, according to US media citing her family and employer. The FSB accused her of gathering funds that were 'used to buy tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.'
'The defendant has pleaded guilty,' the court noted in its statement. The verdict is scheduled to be announced next Thursday. Russian courts typically favor the prosecution, and acquittals in treason cases are exceedingly rare. Moscow has initiated numerous criminal cases against Russian citizens it alleges are supporting or collaborating with Kyiv. Karelina, in her early 30s and formerly employed in Los Angeles, is among a series of US citizens and dual nationals who have been targeted. Last week, Russia freed three of them—journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, as well as former marine Paul Whelan—in the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War.
