A Russian court has sentenced Ksenia Karelina, a 33-year-old dual Russian-American citizen, to 12 years in prison on charges of high treason for donating $51.80 to the Ukrainian military. The Russian prosecution initially sought a 15-year sentence for Karelina, who was arrested in February 2024 in Yekaterinburg and has been held in pre-trial detention since.

In addition to the prison sentence, Karelina has been fined 300,000 rubles (approximately EUR3,070) and will face movement restrictions for 18 months following her release. According to the Sverdlovsk court, Karelina donated money to the Ukrainian forces to purchase "supplies, military equipment, ammunition, and weapons," actions that the court described as "against the security of the Russian Federation."

While Karelina's defense team has not disclosed the exact amount sent to the Ukrainian military, the Russian human rights group Pervi Otdel confirmed that on February 24, 2022--the day the war in Ukraine began--Karelina transferred $51.80 to the fund "Razom for Ukraine" (Together for Ukraine), a U.S.-based organization established by Ukrainians living in America.

Potential Involvement in Future Prisoner Exchange

The sentence comes two weeks after Russia and Western countries conducted a prisoner exchange involving 24 individuals, marking the largest such exchange since 1985. Among those exchanged were three U.S. citizens, including Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was also detained in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges.

According to the news outlet E1.ru, Karelina pleaded guilty, and her lawyer is hopeful that she could be part of a future prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington. U.S. officials and the Russian opposition have accused the Kremlin of using political prisoners and foreign nationals as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians imprisoned in Western countries.

Background and Arrest Details

Karelina, who resided in Los Angeles, declared her guilt during a closed-door trial in Yekaterinburg. Her alleged crime was the donation of $51.80 to a charity that provides humanitarian aid to children and the elderly in Ukraine affected by the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Karelina's case was reviewed by the same court that convicted journalist Evan Gershkovich of espionage before his eventual release in a high-profile prisoner swap. However, unlike Gershkovich, Karelina has not been officially designated by Washington as "unjustly detained," a label that could facilitate diplomatic negotiations for her release.

Born in Russia, Karelina emigrated to the United States in 2012 through a work and study program and became a U.S. citizen in 2021. She was arrested by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) after traveling to Yekaterinburg earlier this year to visit her family.

During her detention, authorities seized her mobile phone, where they found the record of the 2022 donation to Razom for Ukraine via her Venmo account, as reported by several sources.

According to Reuters, the investigation revealed that on February 24, 2022, Karelina, who worked at a spa in the U.S., "transferred funds in the interest of a Ukrainian organization, which were later used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, and ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces."