Who is Ksenia Karelina and why did she thank US President Donald Trump?

In a recent prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington, a Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina was released. After she arrived in the U.S., the Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) , an X account affiliated with U.S. President Donald Trump 's political operation, posted a video of Karelina thanking the President.

The post included the caption, "Ksenia Karelina shares heartfelt gratitude to @POTUS after her release from Russia WELCOME HOME, Ksenia!" In the video, when asked for her message to the President, Karelina wiped her tears and said "Mr. Trump, I'm so so grateful for you to bring me home...I have never felt more blessed to be an American and I'm so so happy to get home. Thank you!"

Ksenia Karelina shares heartfelt gratitude to @POTUS after her release from Russia:

"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."

WELCOME HOME, Ksenia! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/esswf7mEpa

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 11, 2025

Who is Ksenia Karelina?


Ksenia Karelina is a Russian-American ballerina who was freed in exchange for Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian native accused of exporting sensitive American electronics for use in the Russian military, as per Reuters. Born in 1991, Russia, Karelina moved to the states in 2012 on a work-study programme.
Initially, she stayed in Maryland where she was briefly married, but later moved to Los Angeles where she took up the job of an aesthetician at a local spa.

Why was Ksenia Karelina arrested?


While visiting her family in Yekaterinburg, Karelina was arrested by agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in February 2024. The officials inspected her phone and found out that she had donated about $50 to Razon for Ukraine, a New York-based charity providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The FSB accused her of collecting funds for the Ukrainian army. Karelina faced trials behind closed doors and pleaded guilty to the treason charge in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence, as per her lawyer. Upon her plea, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

However, in a prisoner swap that took place in Abu Dhabi on April 10th, she was swapped in a prisoner exchange. As per BBC, during a cabinet meeting, the President had revealed that the release of Karelina was a request from Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White. "Dana White called me, and he said it's the friend or the relationship of one of the fighters, UFC or one of the fighters, and Dana is an incredible guy, and we spoke to President Putin about it, and they made a deal," he said.